Khawaja Asif to summon Faiz Hameed to Parliament

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has announced to summon former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director-general (DG) Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed to Parliament, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Speaking to a private news channel, the defence minister pointed out that terrorism incidents in the country did not increase within six to eights months.

Khawaja Asif criticised the former ISI chief for visiting Kabul in September 2021, saying that those who brought Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back to the country should now answer in front of the Parliament.

It is pertinent to mention here that Faiz Hameed, former ISI chief, led a delegation to Kabul to hold talks with Taliban leadership in September 2021 following the withdrawal of United States (US) troops from Afghanistan.

“What do you hope is going to happen now in Afghanistan,” a reporter asked Gen Faiz. “We are working for peace and stability in Afghanistan,” said a member of Hameed’s entourage.

“Don’t worry, everything will be okay,” the ISI chief told the reporter.

The development came as Pakistan was witnessing an uptick in terrorist activities, with an attack on the Karachi police chief’s office (KPO) on Friday night being the latest incident.

The hours-long combat between terrorists and law-enforcement agencies, at the KPO office at Sharea Faisal, left four people martyred and 18 injured while all three terrorists were killed.

The PTI and the incumbent government have been trading blame for the security situation in the country. The coalition set-up has said that the PTI’s move to enter into dialogue with militants was “faulty” and it was “never endorsed” by parliament.