Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that ex-spymaster Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed was Pakistan's "asset" who had been "wasted".

Hameed has been arrested to face court-martial proceedings under the army laws for allegedly misusing his authority while serving as Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Khan, while talking informally to journalists in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi after the hearing of a case against him, also said that the arrest was an internal matter of the army.

"This is their internal matter, what should I do with it?" he said.

However, he couldn’t hide his gut feeling for the fallen former top-ranking official of the country when said that “he (Hameed) was our asset who was wasted.” Hameed, while leading the ISI from 2019 to 2021, was considered close to Khan who was prime minister at that time.

When Hameed was transferred by the army chief, Khan refused to endorse the move, leading to a confrontation with the establishment which resulted in his ouster.

Khan was reminiscent of that when he claimed in the media chat that former army chief Gen (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa removed Hameed at the behest of Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif.

Khan also said that he had a bitter conversation with General Bajwa over the removal of Hameed.

The former prime minister also said that there were reports from the Intelligence Bureau that Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had been found umpteen times sitting with Bajwa.

He further said that if Hameed is being held accountable then everyone should be held accountable.

According to the army, Hameed had been arrested to face court martial after a court of inquiry regarding an allegation by a private property developer that he was involved in misuse of authority.

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