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Rana Yaseen and Ch Khalid Sardar claim they were “tortured and harassed” on the night of 16 July in the Bahalwapur region of Pakistan. Local journalists have since staged a protest outside the regional Press Club and are demanding immediate investigation. The Abbas Nagar Police have “registered a case” against 10 men accused of taking part in the attack but their names have not been released.
White House officials believe that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence ordered the killing of Pakistani investigative journalist Saleem Shahzad whose body was found on 31 May. Shahzad’s death followed after warnings from Pakistani security agencies over articles that seemed damaging to Pakistan’s national interest and image.
As another person is sentenced to death for defiling Islam’s prophet, Khalid Khattak reports on the continuing debate on the much-abused blasphemy law
Guardian journalist Waqar Kiani has claimed that he was abducted and tortured by Pakistani intelligence agents on Saturday night. The alleged attack followed a television appearance where he discussed a previous assault which took place in 2008, the details of which had only just been released. Kiani has been working on a story about the illegal detention and torture of Islamist militants by Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence . The 32-year-old claims that he was stopped, dragged from his car and attacked with wooden batons and a rubber whip. He is currently being treated in the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.