ISLAMABAD, March 14: The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) on Tuesday told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that banned outfit Hizbut Tahrir (HT) was trying to defame the agency and demoralize its officials by leveling false allegations against them.The single bench was hearing petition for recovery of two missing activists of the banned outfit.

It was the official response of the ISI to the statement of a HT activist Osama Hanif who after being released, while recording his statement before the magistrate in October last year alleged that Major Tariq had abducted him and detained him in a building in sector G-9/4 of Islamabad. The ISI through director legal ministry of defence, commander Shahbaz Hussain denied the allegation.

Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri read out the ISI letter before the IHC single bench comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, in which the agency said, "directorate general ISI has informed that no person with the name of major Tariq has been posted in ISI office at sector G/9-4, neither ISI is involved in alleged detention of the defunct Hizbut Tahrir activists. Therefore, the allegations leveled against ISI are baseless and aimed to demoralise its officials and defame the organization. As a matter of fact, activists of defunct organization Hizbut Tahrir have gone underground to undertake militant/subversive activities and their relatives blamed agencies for their disappearance."

The court directed the commission of enquiry of enforced disappearance to submit the progress report on the two missing HT activists Dr. Abdul Qayyum and Dr. Waheed and adjourned the matter till April 14.

Umer Hayat Sindhu, counsel for the missing persons told Dawn that it had become the habit of the agencies to mislead the courts. He said in the case of 11 missing prisoners and other missing person cases, the agencies were continuously telling a lie to the court and insisted that the missing men might have been gone to take part in "Jihad" on their own.

In the instant case, ISI repeated its earlier stance whereas 4 missing persons after their release categorically stated that they were picked by the ISI officials.

It may be mentioned that HuT activist Hanif who alleged agencies for his abduction was among those six HT activists who went missing during July and August last year in a crackdown on banned outfit after the military authorities arrested brigadier Ali Khan for his alleged connections with HT.