Journalist claims he was kidnapped

Islamabad: A journalist working for a prominent local daily has lodged a complaint with the Islamabad police that he was kidnapped and released after torture by a group of men he suspected to be from some intelligence agency.

Media reports quoted Omar Cheema of the English language daily The News as saying he was whisked away on Saturday by 12 men who handcuffed and blindfolded him and dragged him into a vehicle.

He said he was later detained in a house where the men stripped him, shaved his head and subjected him to torture. The journalist reportedly said the men told he was filing anti-government stories and that he was working for "a lobby which favoured martial law."

Cheema said he had been receiving threats and friends had informed him that his telephone was being tapped.