Pak Army arrests colonel, lawyer for spying

Islamabad, May 14 (ANI): An army colonel along with a lawyer have been arrested on espionage charges, Pakistan's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan told the National Assembly.

Responding to parliament question, Awan informed the house that Colonel Shahid Bashir and his close friend Nadeem Shah, who is a Rawalpindi based lawyer, were currently being investigated by army officials on charges of spying.

"Tomorrow, the CPO (Rao Mohammad Iqabl) of Rawalpindi will provide us further details and we would duly inform us in this regard," Awan said.

Shah's mysterious disappearance had caused furor, with Rawalpindi District Bar Association (DBA) President Taufeeq Asif warning of launching a massive protest against the police.

Shah is an ex-GDP pilot but joined the legal profession later on.

The Supreme Court had also taken sue-motu notice of Shah's disappearance, and expressed its displeasure over the lack information provided by the CPO Rawalpindi.

According to details provided to the superior court, Shah and his friend Col Shahid Bashir went out for dinner together at an undisclosed location in Islamabad but disappeared mysteriously.

In his statement before the court, the CPO said that preliminary information gleaned from various sources suggested that he had been picked up by some intelligence agencies for investigation.

Shah's elder brother had accused the police of involving him in espionage charges to save their skin. (ANI)