Raj Sadosh/Abohar.
Chairman of the Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation Pakistan, Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi, has alleged that he was abducted and severely tortured by three to four unidentified armed men in Lahore last night and was later abandoned near Shahdara after being held for several hours.
Qureshi said that he was on his way home at around 8:00 pm when three to four unidentified men using a car intercepted him near Jain Mandir, Lahore. He alleged that the men forcibly took him into their vehicle, blindfolded him and subjected him to severe physical torture.
He said that he sustained a deep injury to his head, while visible marks of violence remained on different parts of his body.
Qureshi further alleged that during the incident, the men verbally abused him and issued serious threats. According to him, the alleged abductors repeatedly told him:
“We will teach you a lesson for working on Bhagat Singh. You are an agent of India, an enemy of Pakistan, and India is providing you foreign funding.”
He alleged that the men also threatened to kill him if he did not abandon his work relating to Bhagat Singh and warned him that continuing his mission could cost him his life.
Qureshi said that the alleged abductors took him towards Shahdara late at night and abandoned him there before fleeing.
Qureshi said that attempts were being made to intimidate him and force him to abandon his work promoting the ideas associated with Bhagat Singh, peace, humanity, tolerance and people-to-people relations between Pakistan and India.
He categorically declared that he would not retreat from his mission.
“We will continue Bhagat Singh’s mission because it is not merely the mission of an individual or an organization. It is a voice for peace, humanity, love and people-to-people friendship. One day, Pakistan and India will achieve lasting peace, and the people of both countries will come closer to one another.”
He called upon the government, law-enforcement agencies and human rights organizations to conduct an immediate, transparent and impartial investigation into the alleged incident, identify and bring those responsible to justice, and ensure effective protection for him and other political and social activists.
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