The Pakistan Army has arrested a brigadier posted to General Headquarters (GHQ) in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, adjacent to the capital Islamabad, on charges of alleged links with a banned outfit, media reports said Tuesday.
According to Pakistani television channels, Brigadier Ali Khan has been in the GHQ’s Regulation Directorate for two years.
The reports said he was being interrogated in connection with his alleged links to a militant organisation called the Hizbul Tehrir. Sources close to the family of the accused said he did not return home on the evening of May 6.
When family members asked where he was, they were told Brig. Ali Khan had been detained for questioning and would return home soon.
The Army spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas, confirmed that the officer had been arrested, but released no further details about which groups he was alleged to have been in contact with.
“The investigation is on and we follow a zero tolerance policy of any such activity within the Army,” he added.
Maj. Gen. Abbas said Brig. Ali Khan, who was on a routine GHQ posting, is being probed and divulging any further information would hamper the investigation. He added that the Pakistan Army has a strict internal security system and no one would be allowed to violate Army discipline.
According to sources, the detained brigadier was in contact with the Hizbul Tehrir, a banned outfit that demands imposition of an Islamic caliphate system.
The Hizbul Tehrir was banned during the tenure of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2004. It is active in Britain and other Western countries.