Pakistani militant leader beaten up by kidnappers

ISLAMABAD, Mar 29 (Reuters) Unidentified gunmen abducted and beat up a leader of an outlawed Pakistani militant group linked to al Qaeda, inflicting severe head injuries before releasing him, one of his aides today said.

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman Khalil, believed to be the de facto leader of Jamiat-ul-Ansar (Party of Helpers), better known by its former names Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Ansar, was attacked on a roadside near Islamabad yesterday, the aide said.

Khalil and his driver were offering prayers in Tarnol, some five kilometres northwest of the capital, when they were assaulted by eight armed men.

Khalil and his driver were held hostage for around five hours and severely beaten before being dumped back on the roadside, the aide, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.

''They badly thrashed Maulana (Khalil) and his driver with rifle butts and they have serious head injuries,'' the official said.

''At the moment, doctors are not letting us see Maulana because of his critical condition,'' he said.

Jamiat-ul-Ansar's roots go back to the guerrilla war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, covertly funded by the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The group had also been involved in fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, but after it forged links with al Qaeda in Afghanistan during the late 1990s, it fell out of favour with the Pakistani military, and it was banned by President Pervez Musharraf in 2002.

Khalil was detained for several months two years ago and though he was replaced as the party leader during that time, security analysts say he is still believed to be calling the shots in the militant movement.

REUTERS SY RAI1542