13 February 2004	Friday	21 Zilhaj 1424

ISLAMABAD, Feb 12: The Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, upheld on Thursday the decision of its office which had refused to entertain the habeas corpus petition challenging "illegal detention" of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Justice Mansoor Ahmad, after hearing advocate Chaudhry Ikram, upheld the decision of the LHC office which had returned the petition filed by Hasamul Haq, brother of principal secretary to Dr A.Q. Khan, alleging that the architect of Pakistan's nuclear programme was also in "illegal detention" and the court should order his production in the court.

The LHC office had asked the petitioner to explain how the habeas corpus petition was maintainable when an FIR had been registered, and secondly what was the locus standi of the petitioner to file the petition on behalf of Dr A.Q. Khan.

Advocate Ikram argued on Thursday that the report regarding the FIR was not maintainable as it had appeared only in newspapers that an FIR had been registered, and none of the colleagues of Dr A.Q. Khan who are under government custody have been shown the FIR.

Similarly, he argued that under Article 199 of the Constitution, any citizen of Pakistan could point out to the court that somebody had been detained illegally, and it was not mandatory that a close relative of the detenu should approach the court. The court, however, did not accept the contentions of advocate Ikram and dismissed the petition.