June 27, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 11, 1428

FAISALABAD, June 26: Babar Ishaq, an activist of the outlawed Laskhar-i-Taiba who was arrested by the Factory Area police and has been in the detention of an intelligence agency for the last two years, has now been produced before the media as a terrorist, it is learnt.

The police claimed that they had arrested Babar just the other day, but his family is claiming his arrest more than two years ago.

Babar’s father Muhammad Ishaq and his uncle Abdul Jalil told a press conference on Tuesday that the ISU, an intelligence agency, had arrested him (Babar) on Aug 18, 2005 in Lahore.

He said they came to know about the detention of Babar a year ago when a boy released from the custody of the same agency met them and informed them about Babar’s whereabouts. “Thereafter, we moved the agency the officials of which arranged our meeting.

“Some agency employees brought me blindfolded to an undisclosed location where I met Babar who informed me that the agency personnel subjected him to severe torture”.

Subsequently, he said, the family protested in Islamabad a year ago for the recovery of missing persons and appearance of Babar was the outcome of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Iqbal Town SP Ziaullah Niazi had claimed at a press conference held the other day that Babar was wanted for committing different crimes and having links with a gang which had attacked police officials in Peshawar a couple of months ago.

He also claimed that the boy wanted to hit some senior police officers in the district and intended to strike someone on airport.

Babar’s father, however, said his son had nothing to do with any criminal activity.

“It’s true that we are religious people and want to adhere to the teachings of Islam, but my son has committed no offence.” He vowed to send his sons for jihad “despite atrocities”.

He denied the police claim that one of his sons, Sohail Ishaq, was killed in a fight with coalition forces in Afghanistan. “Sohail was martyred in Rajwari, an area in Indian held Kashmir in 2000 and evidences are there.”

Answering a query regarding the recovery of rocket launchers, hand grenades, a Kalashnikov, bulets and pistols from his possession, he asked how it was possible for a boy to carry such a heavy load single-handedly.

Regarding charge levelled by the SP that Ishaq was also involved in a kidnap for ransom case in which he got Rs5 million, he questioned why the police did not raid his house if his son was involved in crimes of heinous nature.

The family has sought the help of the apex court, fearing that the police might kill him in a fake encounter. Ishaq said his third son, Shoaib, has also been missing for the last few months.