Waqar Kiani, a Pakistani journalist working for local and international media houses, was allegedly beaten up by the police on Saturday in the federal capital, a little over a week after he broke his silence about the July 2008 ordeal when he was apparently kidnapped and tortured by intelligence agencies.

According to Mr. Kiani, four persons wearing police uniforms and travelling in a police van stopped him and beat him up. Since this incident took place a week after the British daily The Guardian reported about his July 2008 ordeal, the general view is that he was being punished for breaking his silence.

Working for The Guardian then, Mr. Kiani was tracking a story about the alleged cooperation between Pakistani and British intelligence in the detention and abuse of suspected militants. Before he was picked up and tortured, his house had been ransacked.

When he was let off, Mr. Kiani was warned of dire consequences if he spoke about the incident.