Pakistan ex-MP 'illegally held'

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A former member of Pakistan's parliament has been held in illegal detention for three months, a political ally says.

Abdur Rauf Mengal is being held in the remote town of Zhob in Pakistan's southern province of Balochistan, says MP Choudhury Manzur.

Mr Mengal resigned last year in protest after a Baloch rebel leader was killed.

Hundreds of people have been arrested since a rebellion began in the province, human rights groups say.

Choudhury Manzur stated in parliament that Mr Mengal was being held in solitary confinement and not even his immediate family had been allowed to meet him.

Mr Mengal belongs to the Baloch National Party (BNP), and resigned from parliament last year after rebel leader Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed fighting government forces in Balochistan.

Four senior Pakistan politicians are being held in detention for reasons of political dissent, observers say. Three are from Balochistan.

The province has been the scene of an insurgency for the last three years which has seen hundreds killed and missing, and thousands displaced, according to rights groups and aid agencies.