ISLAMABAD: Director General, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Athar Abbas said that Brigadier Ali Khan has been arrested for having alleged connections with banned outfits.
He said that Ali Khan is in detention and is being investigated.
The DG ISPR denied telling further information about the arrested brigadier. “Any more information could hamper investigation”.
Army has very strict system of scrutiny, the DG said.
Brigadier Ali Khan was on routine GHQ posting, he added.
AGENCIES ADD:
Spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Brigadier Ali Khan, who was in charge of drafting army regulations, was linked to Hizb-ul-Tahrir, a banned group in Pakistan.
“We follow zero tolerance policy of such activities within the military therefore prompt action was taken on detection,” Abbas said.
Hizb-ul-Tahrir, or “Party of Liberation”, is a radical political group dedicated to reestablishing an Islamic Caliphate across the Muslim world. Active in Britain, it is banned in many Muslim countries for its calls to overthrow the sitting governments.
The group says it does not advocate violence, but many critics say it has ties to militant organisations and encourages young men to radicalism.
Abbas said efforts were also being made to arrest members of the group who were in contact with Khan.
Khan would be the highest-ranking serving army officer arrested in a decade.
According to a report on the BBC Urdu website on Tuesday, Brigadier Ali Khan, posted with the Regulation Directorate at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, had gone ‘missing’ a month and a half back.
A senior military official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that the detention was made 20 days ago
we should have great check and balance system.