PESHAWAR, Oct 29: A British national, claiming that his cousins in Abbottabad and the United Kingdom tortured his sons, has demanded that the NWFP government and the British High Commission should save him and his sons from further persecution.

Jan Ajab Khan, son of Zarnosh Khan, whose family had settled in Abbottabad a year ago, told Dawn that his close relative Masoud Rahim of Nowshera, son of Shah Fahim, used to visit him in Abbottabad.

"When I went to London some months ago, Masoud Rahim took away household items such as fridge, freezer, computer and Rs25,000. He also tortured my sons in my absence," he alleged.

Ajab Khan, an employee of the British immigration department, also alleged that in London another relative, Mohammad Nadeem Khan of Nowshera, son of Mumtaz Khan, committed similar crimes.

Mr Nadeem, who was an illegal entrant and claimed to be an Afghan refugee in the UK, had tortured his children and developed illicit relations with his Faisalabad-born wife, he said.

Mr Khan said he had divorced his wife in London and filed a case in a family court for the custody of his children living with their mother. "I have brought my two sons, Asim Khan, 13, and Anees Khan, 12, back to my village Khesghi Bala in Nowshera. As soon as I had settled down in Abbottabad, my relatives from Kheshgi began visiting and staying with us in Abbottabad," he added.

He said he had lodged an FIR in Abbottabad to get the accused arrested, but to no avail. He demanded that the British High Commission in Islamabad should intervene and take steps so that he got justice.