Thaindian News

Islamabad, June 21 (IANS) A senior Pakistani army officer has been taken into custody for his alleged links with a banned militant group, Xinhua reported Tuesday.

Brigadier Ali Khan had been serving at the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on a key position and was arrested in May, said Pakistan army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas.

Earlier, the BBC Urdu website in a report quoted the army spokesman as saying that investigation into his links with an outlawed group was underway but he avoided giving more details saying it could affect the investigation.

The report quoted an unnamed officer as saying that the Pakistan’s Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had personally ordered his arrest.

Brigadier Khan did not return home May 6 and the family was told that the “Brigadier has been stopped for some questions and would soon reach home”, said sources close to the Brigadier’s family.

A senior army officer told the BBC Urdu website on condition of anonymity that no formal charge sheet has been framed against Brigadier Khan but the army’s Special Investigation Branch (SIB) is holding an inquiry into his links with extremists.

The SIB is known for investigation into serious and sensitive matters within the army.

The family of the detained army officer is reluctant to talk to the media and is also unwilling to approach the court.

The family hoped that because of Khan’s three-decade-long service in the army he would be freed.

Brigadier Khan’s father was a junior commissioned officer in the army and his younger brother is a colonel and is performing in a key intelligence agency. His son-in-law and son are also captains in the army.