15 December 2004	Wednesday	02 Ziqa'ad 1425

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RAWALPINDI, Dec 14: The Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court on Tuesday admonished a senior bureaucrat and directed the interior ministry to furnish details relating to whereabouts of Naeem Noor Khan , an alleged Al Qaeda operative, within three days.

The court had earlier directed the interior ministry to present a detailed reply about the 25-year-old computer expert who was reportedly arrested on July 13 from Lahore Airport for having links with the Al Qaeda terrorist network.

On Tuesday, Deputy Secretary (political wing) of the Ministry of Interior Riaz Malik contended that he did not have enough time to get the details and said that he had only been informed in the morning about his court appearance. He said he was not responsible for giving out any such information.

But Deputy Attorney-General Chaudhry Mohammad Tariq informed the court that he had informed the secretary concerned on Nov 8 about the court's directive and complained that the ministry was not following the court's orders. He said there were many cases of habeas corpus in which the ministry had not been able to respond in time a, because of which their hearings were delayed.

Subsequently, the court admonished the secretary and instructed the interior ministry to present details about Mr Khan in the court on Dec 17. The court warned that it would take action against the ministry if it failed to furnish the report.

Hayat Noor Khan, the father of Naeem Noor Khan, has filed a habeas corpus petition in which he has contended that the government had arrested his son on suspicion of having links with Al Qaeda.

He contended that the government had not yet brought any formal charges against Mr Khan in the court and had kept him at an undisclosed location. Since Mr Khan's arrest, he had not been allowed to meet his family, his father had contended.

He requested the court to ask the government to press formal charges against his son and allow him to defend himself against the charges and allow him to meet his family members.