The speed with which Pakistan’s political landscape twists and turns can give a rollercoaster a run for its money. Who would have thought that a former chief of the country’s premier intelligence agency would one day be taken into custody by the army over allegations of land grabbing and snatching valuables from the owner of a private housing society. According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the process of Field General Court Martial has been initiated against former Inter-Services Intelligence chief, the retired Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed. The ISPR statement added that “multiple instances of violation of Pakistan Army Act post-retirement have also been established.” The news was surprising as it is almost unheard of that such a senior former military official and former spy chief has been arrested and will be court-martialed.

There is a lot of speculation about his arrest. Some are of the opinion that the military is now holding its own accountable, which they see as a positive development since there have been demands for accountability for many decades now and this is the first step in that direction. However, others say that he is being made accountable because he seemingly went too far. While the Top City housing society case relates to abuse of power and corruption, it is the part about his post-retirement activities that has led to speculation.

Hameed was said to be quite close to the former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief, Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated for a year now. He served as the spy chief under Khan from 2019 to 2021. There were rumours that Khan wanted him to be the next army chief. However, this charge has been denied by the former premier. Interestingly, Hameed took an early retirement in December 2022, soon after the current army chief took charge. Some observers allege that he was advising Khan after his retirement and that he had a role in the May 9 riots last year. So far, these reports are unsubstantiated. Many observers see Hameed’s arrest as a great setback for Imran Khan and warn that there is a lot more to come.

The political landscape here is never dull, but there are other important things that need the government’s attention. On August 22, the Kacha bandits blew up two police vehicles with a rocket, martyring 12 policemen. Kacha refers to the riverine areas along the Indus River and Kacha bandits are hardened criminals who are well-armed and have been terrorising citizens for quite some time. In its editorial on the tragic incident, The News raised some important points: “Where are these weapons coming from? How are they being smuggled into the kacha areas? And perhaps most disturbingly, are these criminals operating with the tacit support of local influential figures, or are they simply so entrenched that they no longer need external backing? The lack of clarity surrounding the origins and motivations of these bandits only adds to the complexity of the challenge. Unlike terrorists, whose ideologies and backers are often well-documented, the kacha bandits seem to operate with a singular focus on profit through criminal activities. This makes them unpredictable and difficult to counter.” The government has announced that it will deal with these criminals with an iron fist. The sooner the better.

Another matter that must be dealt with an iron fist is the education crisis in the country. The District Education Performance Index Report 2023 released on Friday showed that the national average score for the overall index is 53.46 (out of 100), which places Pakistan in the “Low” performance category. Some termed it shocking while others say that this is the ground reality that educators have long been warning about. While most of our news cycle focusses on political developments, we forget that education is something that affects the entire country. Pakistan has a huge youth bulge and if our education sector is not performing well, the future of our next generation is at stake. Education, health, climate change, law and order, fighting terrorism and fixing the economy are what the government must focus on an emergency basis. Our future depends on it.

Mehmal Sarfraz is a journalist based in Lahore; mehmal.s@gmail.com