ISLAMABAD, April 6: The government has started arranging fortnightly meetings of detained officials of Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) with their family members, a source told Dawn.

However, officials of an intelligence agency remained present during the meetings, the source added. "Owing to the presence of intelligence personnel, the detained officials find it impossible to convey to their family members the true state of the conditions under which they are living," the source said.

The meetings are arranged in the KRL Mess in Rawalpindi where detained officials are taken under strict security. The source said the intelligence personnel had stopped questioning the KRL officials for over two months but they were still under 'solitary confinement'.

Six senior officials of the KRL were under investigation being conducted to find out their alleged involvement in proliferation and transferring of nuclear technology to other states.

Over a dozen officials of the KRL were picked up by an intelligence agency over three months ago and except for these six, all of them were released on the condition that "they would remain tight lipped about the investigation."

Meanwhile, a family member of a detained official told Dawn that most of the detained officials were suffering from hypertension, blood pressure and pain in their chests.

He accused the government of not providing proper medical care to them and keeping them in miserable condition. "Nobody talks to these officials for the whole day and they are not provided even newspapers or books," he added.