Afghan scholar arrested

Published October 1, 2006

PESHAWAR, Sept 30: An Afghan scholar, who had returned from Guantanamo Bay after languishing there for three-and-half years, was picked up by an intelligence agency, his son claimed on Saturday.

Abdur Rahim Muslim Dost was picked by the sleuths of the intelligence agency with the help of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) after Friday prayer in the University Town area, his son Abdul Ahad told Dawn.

He has been ‘punished’ for a book he had written about his detention, first by the Pakistani intelligence agency in Peshawar and then by the US army at Bagram prison in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Mr Ahad said.

In the book, written in Pashto language and co-authored by his brother Badruz Zaman Badr, who was also his companion at the Guantanamo Bay, they had blamed Pakistani agencies and US army for subjecting the Muslims to atrocities.

“He used to discuss his experience in the prisons in public and it can be the only reason of his rearrest,” Mr Ahad added.

On Saturday, police also visited their house in Spina Waray area, but they were not interested in their help, Abdul Ahad said, adding that in Pakistan no one can help you if one of your friends or relatives is picked up by an intelligence agency.

Muslim Dost had migrated to Peshawar from his village near Jalalabad city of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province in 1972. He was released from Gouantanamo Bay last year, his son added.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...