PESHAWAR, July 12: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday directed the deputy attorney general (DAG) to get information from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) about a former PAF serviceman who had been picked up by two of its officials 19 months ago.

Muhammad Zaheer was arrested by police in an injured condition on Dec 3, 2004 in connection with a bank robbery in Matta (Swat). Later, he was allegedly picked by ISI officials from the Rawalpindi CMH, where he was under treatment, on the suspicion of being member of a militant outfit and involved in an attempt on the life of General Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi.

A bench comprising Justice Fazlur Rehman Khan and Justice Jehanzeb Raheem was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Muhammad Sohail, brother of the detainee, of Mardan. It fixed July 18 for further proceedings and directed DAG Salahuddin Khan to positively ascertain whereabouts of the detainee by this date.

The bench also extended operation of a stay order by which the ATC Swat had been restrained from proceedings against the detainee in absentia in the bank robbery case.

When the matter was taken up on Wednesday, the DAG sought time for contacting respondent ISI. The petitioner’s counsel, Siddique Haider Qureshi, pointed out that for the last two months the DAG had been making the same requests. He submitted that the detainee had been missing for about two years during which he was neither produced before any court nor his relatives were informed regarding his whereabouts.

When the DAG stated that the petitioner had been levelling baseless allegations against the ISI, Mr Qureshi pointed out that he had annexed official documents with the petition which proved that the detainee was removed from the hospital by two officials of the ISI. He added that official letters of the DPO Swat and documents of the police stations concerned proved that even now he was in the custody of the ISI.

The counsel contended that despite repeated requests by the superintendent of police (investigation), the ISI officials did not even bother to give a reply.

The respondents in the petition are: the director general ISI, the director of ISI Swat district, Colonel Hameed and Major Sikander of the ISI; the NWFP PPO; superintendent of police (investigation), the ATC judge, federal interior ministry, secretary ministry of defence and the government of the NWFP through its home secretary.