AFTER more than a year, the conviction of Faiz Hameed was announced last week. It’s hard to say if it came as a surprise to anyone; after all, once the news of his arrest was made public last year, the conviction was a verdict foretold. And in the last couple of months, there had been quite a few leaks about what was apparently due any day.

For someone uninformed and with little access to power, it is hard to say what exactly this conviction means for Pakistan, its state structure and the military. Hence, here are some thoughts and questions on this conviction which undoubtedly is unprecedented, for no officer who headed the ISI has ever been held to account by its own institution.

However, it is noteworthy that in Pakistan, with its complex civil-military relations, ISI chiefs have always attracted controversy, more a function of the political and power relations rather than individuals. From Asad Durrani to Hamid Gul and Ehsan ul Haq, who too were rarely ever far from media, which in their day was rather staid and limited.

In recent times, we had Shuja Pasha, who perhaps set the trend for extensions, along with his boss. In addition, he was front and centre of crises such as Memogate, where his affidavit became a source of controversy and instability. Though of course, now he is more remembered for his role in propping up the PTI and being the brains behind the........

© Dawn