Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf used former ISI chief Faiz Hameed for political purposes.
Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, the ISPR chief stressed that terrorism remains Pakistan’s gravest threat and said counterterrorism operations in 2025 reached unprecedented intensity.
Responding to questions on the 2021 resettlement of militants and claims of selective accountability, Lt Gen Chaudhry said institutions lose effectiveness and independence when politics intrudes. He underlined that the armed forces must remain above partisan interests.
(فیض حمید) کو سیاست کیلئے استعمال کیا گیا، ادارے کا کوئی تعلق نہیں
ڈی جی ISPR کی نام لیے بغیر عمران خان پر تنقید#ImranKhan #FaizHameed #DGISPR_PressConfrence #DGISPR #9NewsHD pic.twitter.com/gV94mIQ8BM
— 9 News HDᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@9newshdpk) January 6, 2026Without naming Imran Khan, the ISPR chief said the then prime minister ran both the party and the government in a highly centralised manner. “This was not an institutional matter; it was a game of personalities,” he said, adding that institutions should not shoulder blame for decisions driven by personal politics.
He questioned where the intelligence chief from that period stood, saying the office had been used for political ends. Lt Gen Chaudhry also rejected claims that the former prime minister lacked authority, arguing he wielded extraordinary power.
Read: ISPR Accuses PTI of Hindering Counterterrorism as KP Faces Surge in Attacks
“He was so powerful that he publicly declared the then army chief as the ‘father of the nation’,” the ISPR chief said, adding that Pakistan has one founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and one national poet, Allama Muhammad Iqbal. He dismissed efforts to recast national symbols for political convenience.
The ISPR chief also criticised repeated calls by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for negotiations with militants. He questioned the intent behind such proposals and warned that they had already worsened security in the province. “They pushed their own province into this fire and now want to drag the whole country into it,” he said.
