Original Article Brothers allege FBI knowledge of torture in Pakistani detention Kamran Khan and John Lancaster Washington Post May. 25, 2005 12:00 AM KARACHI, Pakistan - Two U.S. citizens of Pakistani descent charged Tuesday that Pakistani security forces tortured them during eight months of secret detention and that FBI interrogators were aware of the mistreatment but did not intervene. Zain Afzal, 23, alleged that he and his older brother, Kashan, were repeatedly tortured after their August arrest in Karachi on suspicion of links to al-Qaida. Zain Afzal said he and his brother were questioned by FBI agents who made no effort to stop the abuse and claimed they had no authority to help them. The brothers, who have acknowledged having links to a radical Pakistani group, were born in the United States but have spent most of their lives in Pakistan. "The FBI didn't torture us directly, but it can't be a coincidence that we were beaten severely, kept awake all night or hung upside down by Pakistani agents before each of about 10 interrogation sessions by FBI agents," Afzal said. "It was a very coordinated carrot-and-stick operation." The brothers did not allege that U.S. agents were present when they were tortured. In Washington, an FBI spokesman acknowledged that agents interviewed the Afzal brothers but could not say how many times. "Any assertion that the FBI condoned or directed torture is false," the bureau said in a statement.