UK Govt. 'failed to stop torture of three Britons in Pak'

London, Mar. 18 (ANI): The UK Government has come under fire for reportedly failing to stop the torture of three Britons in Pakistan despite repeatedly being asked for assistance. Birmingham based Fazal Hussain, 56, along with his two sons Naheem, 24, and Rehan Zaman, 24, were arrested for their alleged role in the killings of two members of their extended family in Pakistan occupied Kashmir in 2004.

"They beat us by kicking, sticks and any other way. They would never stop beating me and my son. They would not let us sleep and they did not give us any food or water. A British embassy representative, who visited us, was shown evidence of our treatment, but he said 'I can't do anything'," The Daily Telegraph quoted, Hussain as saying.

The men were also forced to watch each other being tortured, which Hussain described as worse than enduring his own beatings.

"For hours, my son was on the floor, with two policemen - one holding his legs, one holding his arms - and a third one standing on his stomach, kicking. I was right in front of my son," he said.

Zaman also had cigarettes put out on his wrists and one of his fingernails extracted.After Hussain was forced to sign a confession, and his father bribed the police chief more than 11,000 pounds, he and Zaman were charged with the murders.

"I have lost my whole life, I'm not able to work. I just want to get my son back here. I appeal to Britain: we are British citizens - do something, please," Hussain pleaded.

The Foreign Office told the legal group representing the British men that it had been warned by a Pakistani lawyer representing the men, not to intervene over their treatment.

"We've got to make sure that the Government adopts a policy that when someone is going through an ongoing process of torture, there are immediate steps taken to stop it," Director of Reprieve, Clive Stafford-Smith, said. ritish Foreign Office's apparent willingness to obey the "lawyer" raised questions over the security of Britons travelling abroad, he said. (ANI)