Former Pakistan spy chief arrested over land development case

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan's military said on Monday it had arrested retired general Faiz Hameed, former head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, in connection with a land development case.

The detention of a high-profile officer is unusual in Pakistan, where the military has ruled for over 30 of the 77 years since independence, and continues to hold sway.

The arrest was ordered by the Supreme Court, the military said in a statement, adding that multiple violations of the Pakistan Army Act after Hameed's retirement had also been established.

"The process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated and Lt Gen Faiz Hameed (Retd) has been taken into military custody," the statement read. It did not elaborate on the violations.

It was not possible to reach him for comment.

Hameed was director general of the ISI from 2019 to 2021, and came into the global spotlight when he was filmed drinking tea in the lobby of a Kabul hotel shortly after the Taliban had taken over Afghanistan following the pullout of U.S. and other Western forces in 2021.

The ISI had long been accused by Washington of backing the Taliban while U.S.-led forces were in Afghanistan from 2001 onwards.

The ISI chief is generally considered the second most powerful military officer in Pakistan after the head of the army.

Hameed was also considered to be close to Imran Khan, who named him to head the ISI when he was premier. Khan was ousted in 2022 in a vote of no-confidence that he alleges was orchestrated by the military, which denies this.

Some local media reports have suggested the disagreements between Khan and the military included Khan's desire to keep Hameed on as ISI chief after his tenure ended.

(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam;Editing by Bernadette Baum and Kevin Liffey)