LAHORE, Sept 8: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday allowed another adjournment for nine days in a habeas corpus petition seeking release of two brothers, who were arrested by Shadbagh police on Aug 9 as Al Qaeda suspects.

Ghulam Dastagir Hamid and Nadeem Ejaz were allegedly picked up by the police along with some Turks when they were coming out of a mosque after offering Fajr prayers. Their father, Ghulam Nabi, filed a habeas corpus petition the hearing of which has been adjourned several times by Justice Muhammad Bilal Khan after the police deposed in court that they were unaware of the whereabouts of the two brothers, who are employees of different government departments.

SP (City) Dr Usman Anwar deposed before the court on Wednesday that he or Shadbagh police officials did not know where the two brothers were being kept. He wanted another week to reach the two brothers after which the court allowed the adjournment of the hearing till Sept 17 and directed the SP to personally appear with a report.

Justice Bilal did not tend to agree with the city police chief that the police was unaware of the two brothers who, according to the petitioner, were being unlawfully detained by the police.

His counsel, Irshadullah Chatha, submitted that the police's version could not be believed because the detainees were located in the Shadbagh police lock-up by their family which had gone there to provide them with food.

He submitted that the SHO refused to allow the food inside the lock-up and told the family that the brothers might not be given poison in food. Petitioner Ghulam Nabi submitted that some Turks were also offering the Fajr prayers at the mosque.

The police arrested three or four of them along with his two sons. He said the police raided the house of the Turks and took into custody more of them along with their wives and children. Later, they set free all the Turks except one, who was still in the police custody along with his sons.

According to the petitioner, his sons had no connection with Al-Qaeda or any other terrorist organization. They were only practising Muslims and offered prayers regularly at the mosque.

They might have met the Turks in the mosque like several other faithful and this did not establish that they had any links with the Turks and the Al-Qaeda. The petitioner submitted that the police were keeping his two sons in custody without a legal authority.