ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: The wife of Dr Mohammad Farooq, a nuclear scientist detained by covert agencies since Nov 23, submitted a petition in the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court , urging the court to ask the Inter-Services Intelligence to free her husband.

The petition, filed by Khush Niaz though her lawyer Chaudhry Ikram, nominated the federal government as respondents through the secretary interior and the director-general of the ISI.

It stated that the petitioner's husband, who was picked up from his residence in E-Block of the Satellite Town in Rawalpindi on Nov 23, worked as a director in BPS-21 in the KRL, Kahuta, and was arrested without warrants by a team headed by an army officer, who had identified himself as Col Nisar Ahmad.

Dr Farooq, the petitioner stated, was brought back to the house within house after he was picked up but only to collect his clothes and personal belongings. The petitioner also stated that Chairman of the KRL Javed Ashraf Mirza was informed about the "illegal, unauthorised, and unconstitutional detention of Mohammad Farooq but to no avail."

She said a meeting of the family members, including their two children, was arranged with the detenu on Dec 1, 2003. The family was taken to an unspecified place in Sector G-9 in Islamabad, where they met Dr Farooq.

The petitioner said she was told in a meeting lasting over half an hour that the family should not tell anyone about the detention, otherwise the ISI authorities would take severe action against Dr Farooq.

The petitioner stated she and her family members have made all possible efforts to know about the whereabouts of the detenu through police, ISI and other authorities but without any success in this regard.

The petitioner expressed the fear that her husband was being victimised, saying that she feared for his life.

This, she stated, was being done at the behest of the FBI. The petitioner further stated that she also feared that her husband might be transferred to some other country under the pressure of the US government.

The petitioner requested the court to declare Dr Farooq's detention illegal, and direct the authorities to produce him in the court. She also requested the court to direct the respondents not to transfer the detenu from Pakistan or to any other agency operating in Pakistan.