PARIS: Lieutenant General (R) Faiz Hameed, an officer of the Third Pakistan Army from Chakwal district, who has been imprisoned for fourteen years by a court martial, as the same sentences were previously faced by Major General Tajamul Hussain Malik of Thanil Kamal village, Chakwal district, and Lieutenant General Javed Iqbal Malik of Bochhal village, Chakwal district, who have also faced a court martial and were sentenced to fourteen years in prison.
When General Ziaul Haq imposed martial law and dismissed the Bhutto government, Tajamul Hussain Malik showed dislike for General Ziaul Haq on the grounds of imposing martial law. It is said that since 1977, he had thought that he would arrest General Ziaul Haq and bring him before the nation as soon as he got the opportunity and that he would confess to the nation that he had committed a mistake by imposing martial law and hanging Bhutto.
This was mentioned by Major General Tajammul Hussain Malik himself in his book – The Story of My Struggle, in which he wrote, “My intention was not to commit massacre. I did not want to bring about a revolution by shedding blood. The plan was to arrest Ziaul Haq and bring him before the nation so that the army itself would admit its mistake. By seizing power, General Ziaul Haq not only broke the constitution but also dragged the honour of the army into the quagmire of politics. I saw him not as a commander but as an accidental ruler. I knew that if I remained silent, history would call me a coward. And if I took a step, I might be called a traitor. I decided to follow my conscience instead of history.”
He further writes, “When his reaction to the arrest and court martial appeared, I was told that I was a criminal against the state, I smiled. A state is one that is governed by the constitution, not an individual or a group of people.”
He wrote in his book, “I could have been expelled from the army, but not because of my ideology. Pakistan will one day have to return to the constitution, justice and the people, otherwise the uniform will keep changing, not the governance.”
He further wrote, “During solitude, I thought a person either breaks or recognises himself. I learnt in prison that strength lies not in guns but in standing firm on the truth.”
Here he presents himself not as a defeated person but as a steadfast one.
Lieutenant General (R) Javed Iqbal Malik’s court martial case (2019) was the same joint espionage case in which Lieutenant General (R) Javed Iqbal Malik, Brigadier (R) Raja Rizwan and Dr Wasim Akram (civilian) were convicted for espionage. The verdict was handed down by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) and was ratified by the then Army Chief. Now, Lt Gen (R) Faiz Hameed was sentenced to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment by a court martial on December 11. It is worth noting that Major General Tajammul Hussain Malik, after his release, cautiously entered politics in 1988 and contested the elections on the platform of Tehrik-i-Inqalab-e-Islam.
According to him, Pakistan’s colonial system is not tolerable and it must be transformed into an Islamic system. He formed his own political party and also contested as a candidate for the National Assembly from Chakwal.
