PESHAWAR, Jan 28: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed the additional inspector-general of police, investigation, to inquire into the disappearance of a citizen allegedly picked up by the Inter-Services Intelligence more than two months ago.

A bench comprising Justice Malik Hamid Saeed and Justice TallatQayyum Qureshi directed Deputy Attorney-General Salahuddin Khan to file comments on behalf of the ISI within a week.

The bench directed AIG Masood Paracha to conduct the inquiry within a week and fixed Feb 11 for the next hearing. The court recorded statements of East Cantonment police station SHO Shafiullah Khan and 10 residents of Abshar Colony, Warsak Road, from where the detainee, Abdul Khalil, was picked up on Nov 8, 2003.

The writ petition against the alleged detention has been filed by Mr Khalil's wife, Amina. The petitioner's counsel, Abdul Rauf Rohaila contended that the petitioner should, at least, be informed about the whereabouts of her husband.

The residents of the area, including the detainee's brother, Jalil Khan, said in their joint statement that the SHO, three plainclothesmen and six constables, including two women, raided the residence of Mr Khalil on Nov 8 at about 4pm. They stated that the raiding party entered the residence and brought out the detainee.

They said they saw the hand-cuffed detainee being taken to a green jeep carrying a registration number of Islamabad. Mr Jalil said he visited the police station the following day, but the SHO informed him that the detainee had been taken away by ISI personnel and told him to contact the army authorities.

He said that after a month the family received a telephone call from the detainee, who said he could not discuss the issue in detail as the call might be disconnected.

He said he had not heard from the detainee since then. The SHO stated under oath that neither had he raided the residence of the detainee nor was he arrested in his presence. He denied that the detainee's brother had visited him in the police station.

He said he was not aware why the residents were naming him. The respondents in the petition are: the ISI director-general, director and assistant director; the SHO; the inspector-general of police, NWFP; the federal government through the interior secretary and the provincial government through the home secretary.