ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s most powerful intelligence agency held seven suspected militants sought by the Supreme Court for more than a year and a half without sufficient evidence to try them, the agency’s lawyer said Monday.

The admission, made in a court hearing, was likely to fuel concerns about the conduct of Pakistan’s security establishment in its battle against a domestic Taliban insurgency during the past several years. Rights organizations have accused Pakistani security forces of holding scores of suspected militants without charging them.