UK colluded in Pakistan torturing

Agents in Britain's MI5 and MI6 services have reportedly assisted Pakistan's intelligence in torturing terrorist suspects.

According to a shocking report conducted by Human Rights Watch, there is a widespread complicity between UK intelligence officials and their Pakistani counterparts in torturing and interrogating British terrorist suspects held in Pakistan.

The report says the suspects were first tortured by Pakistani secret service agents and subsequently questioned by UK intelligence officials adding that different agents were deployed to interview different suspects.

"The suspects go through these torture sessions by the Pakistani agencies, then the British interview the suspects. The suspects then go back into custody. They are then beaten and tortured and then more questions are asked by the British agents", a senior official with HRW said.

Pakistani intelligence officials told HRW that they tortured British terror suspects before being interviewed by MI5 and MI6 officers, confirming that British intelligence knew suspects were being maltreated.

"Of course they [the British] knew that we were beating them up, hanging them upside down and whipping them. That's what we do", one Pakistani agent said.

The HRW report, due next month, adds that British officials had provided Pakistani intelligence with key questions when interrogating suspects under duress.

"Our new report will provide greater detail of what amounts to torture and British awareness and effective complicity in the torture of suspects", the HRW official added.

The international non-government organization says it was convinced that Britain was 'outsourcing torture'.

"The British questions form part of the violent process. They are aware the suspects are injured, they fail to take notice of this. They put forward questions as part of this process. At no time are the British agencies seen torturing directly. But we believe it amounts to the outsourcing of torture.'

The report is expected to increase the pressure on Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who has repeatedly said that Britain does not condone torture.