ISLAMABAD, Nov 15: MNA Maimoona Hashmi, daughter of detained ARD president Javed Hashmi, on Saturday alleged that her father was tortured and was still being kept in isolation to break his will.

“I find him physically weak but mentally strong to continue his fight for the cause of democracy,” she told reporters after meeting her father at the Adiala jail on the 18th day of his detention. Civil judge Amir Saleem Rana, on an application from Ms Maimoona, had allowed her on Friday to meet her father.

She said that only two persons — herself and her younger sister — were allowed by the jail authorities to meet the detained leader despite the fact that the court had given permission to seven to eight people to meet him.

“Our vehicles were not allowed to enter the jail premises. We were kept waiting for a long time and when finally I met my father, which was only for forty minutes, we had to sit at some distance in a room where the jail personnel were also present,” she said.

Replying to a question, she said she could not see any marks of torture on her father because she was at a distance.

She said despite being a prominent political leader, the ARD president and acting president of PML-N had not been given A class in jail.

“The treatment meted out to my father is worse than what is being inflicted on the alleged Al Qaeda operatives in Guantanamo Bay,” she alleged.

She said Mr Hashmi informed her that those who picked him up on the night of Oct 29 from the Parliamentary Lodges were military personnel who, after blindfolding him, took him to some police station where he was taken to a small room, slammed against its four walls repeatedly, not allowed to sleep for many nights and then was lodged in a security cell in complete isolation, she claimed.

“My father became disorientated with respect to time and space because he could not see daylight for eleven days,” she said.

Ms Hashmi said, her father told her that he was prepared to suffer torture of any kind at the hands of the military rulers but would not compromise on principles because he firmly believed in supremacy of parliament and the right of the people to rule.

“My father has also reiterated his demand for setting up of Kargil Commission and has asked for digging into the assets of all the military generals,” she said, adding that her father had also asked the rulers that since he was the one who had read out the ‘letter’ at a press conference, they should try only him in the case and not implicate other innocent people in it.

“My father has also appreciated the support lent by Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Amin Fahim, MMA members, lawyers and the media for raising voice in his favour in this hour of need,” she said.

She said her father had not delivered any message for National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain.

PML-N leader Mushahidullah Khan and PML-N Information secretary Siddiqul Farooq, who were also present, announced that the party was all set to launch countrywide protest demonstrations during Ramazan in different district headquarters starting from Sunday in Kasur.

Similar demonstrations would also be held in Pakpattan on Monday, Faisalabad on Friday, Multan on Saturday and in other cities of the country.

The PPP, which is also an ARD component, has decided to support these protests while the MMA members would also be taken into confidence in this regard, they said. These protest demonstrations would culminate in a big protest campaign, they hoped.

They also alleged that despite the assurance of the prime minister that political opponents would not be implicated in false cases, everything was being done in the broad day light.

They alleged that those ministers who were pointing accusing fingers at Mr Hashmi were themselves wanted in different cases.