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A Lahore-based lawyer has claimed that Ajmal Kasab whom Indian authorities had accused of involvement in Mumbai attacks was actually kidnapped by Indian Agency RAW while he was in Nepal on a business tour.

Lahore High Court lawyer Chaudhry Muhammad Farooq, known as CM Farooq,
Also the head of an NGO ‘Voice’ for the Human & Prisoner’s Rights, the lawyer said some of the relatives of Ajmal contacted him in middle June 2007 and apprised him of Ajmal’s disappearance in Nepal. He said he prepared the case till February 2008 following which he moved to Nepal.

“I filed a habeas corpus in the Nepal Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of Nepal heard the petition and admitted it for proper hearing.” He said he had made Nepal’s Home Department, Defence Department, Nepal Government and Indian agencies a party in the case.

He said he had contacted Nepal police, its Home Department, United Nation’s Human Rights Wing in Nepal as well as all human rights activists, NGOs, embassies of different countries and apprised them about the kidnap of a Pakistani national by Indian agencies. He said the Nepal government told him that he was making pointless efforts to know the real facts as to Ajmal and the other missing persons and their whereabouts.

He said Ajmal’s arrest by Indian agency had also been published by the media in Nepal. He said Ajmal had gone to Nepal along with his four business partners who used to visit Nepal for business. Besides, he added, there were three to four PIA flights going to Nepal weekly and most of their passengers were businessmen. He said Ajmal’s family was contacted by some of those passengers.

Farooq said he had evidence about Ajmal’s disappearance in Nepal. “I have held a huge press conference in Nepal attended by the international media apprising them about Ajmal’s kidnap by Indian agencies.” He said the reports about the press conference could be accessed through the internet. He said the Indian agencies had also kept him under arrest for four hours and tortured him in Nepal.

To a query as to why it took him so long to make the statement about Ajmal, he said as many as 10 to 20 agencies were calling and asking him about the incident. He said he was scared of the agencies so he was initially reluctant to do so. “My conscience has forced me to come forward and explain the whole situation for the sake of the country, which is under immense pressure,” he said.

Farooq also claimed that he had seen Ajmal’s picture released by Indian media and could clearly recognise it as that of same Ajmal. He said Ajmal had no link with Farid Kot. However, he refused to give any contact number or whereabouts of Ajmal’s relatives in Pakistan.

On the other hand, Nepalese government has denied Kasab’s arrest by Indian agents from Nepal, reports Pakistan’s only independent News Channel Geo TV.

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