Siddiq kidnapped, freed after torture

Published October 30, 2002

ISLAMABAD, Oct 29: The central information secretary of of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Siddiqul Farooq, on Tuesday alleged that he was kidnapped for a few hours and tortured by two majors and two captains of Inter Services Intelligence Agency for exposing the former ISI chief and federal minister for railways and communications Javed Ashraf Qazi as corrupt.

Speaking at a news conference held at the PML(N) office, he said that on Tuesday morning when he was on his way to his party secretariat, some ISI men intercepted his car.

They broke the window, pulled him out, blindfolded him and took him to an unknown place where they tortured and threatened to kill him.

Showing his bruised body, he said, later in the evening they left him at a deserted place near Havelian.

Vowing to continue exposing sitting and retired generals’ involvement in corruption, Farooq said he had decided not to register a case against the minister as he does not expect justice would be done.

Farooq demanded that the minister should be arrested and his name be placed on the exit control list.

DENIAL: Later in an official handout a government spokesman denied Siddiqul Farooq’s allegations of corruption against the federal minister and his manhandling by any intelligence agency.

The minister earlier in the day in a television interview said in a threatening tone that allegations levelled against him were totally baseless and that he would sort it out.

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