November 06, 2008	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 7, 1429

PESHAWAR, Nov 5: An official of Swat police on Wednesday expressed ignorance regarding the whereabouts of a missing young man who was allegedly in the custody of an intelligence agency for the last about a year.

A two-member bench comprising Chief Justice Tariq Pervez Khan and Justice Shahji Rehman Khan directed the station house officer (SHO) of Mingora Police Station in Swat to submit a report to the court within 10 days about any development regarding the disappearance of the man, Gul Bashar.

The bench was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Khaista Bashar, father of the 25 year-old detainee.

The petitioner alleged that his son was picked by officials of Swat police on Nov 23, 2007, near Fizza Gut, along with four other persons. He claimed that the four other detainees were later on released but his son remained missing.

The petitioner claimed that after arrest of his son he came to know through different sources that he was handed over to an intelligence agency by the police. However, he added the police had not been informing about where his son had now been kept.The petitioner’s counsel Ziaur Rehman Tajik contended that the detainee had not been produced before any court despite the passage of a year.

The SHO, Khaista Rehman, appeared on court notice and stated that they had neither arrested the man nor had handed him over to any agency.

SECRETARY SUMMONED: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday summoned the secretary of NWFP Public Service Commission in a writ petition challenging alleged illegal appointment of a female while ignoring the petitioner on the post of lecturer in law.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Said Maroof Khan fixed Nov 12 for next hearing and directed that the secretary should appear along with the relevant record.

The petition is filed by Ms Nadia Tahseen, who stated that the NWFP PSC had advertised various posts of lecturer in law on July 29, 2007. She stated that she had applied for the same from Zone 2 (Peshawar) which had one post.

The petitioner claimed that although she qualified on merit but another female, Ulfat Qasim, who had domicile of tribal area, was recommended for appointment against the said post.

The petitioner’s counsel Waseem Khattak, contended that initially the respondents including the PSC claimed that as the husband of Ms Ulfat Qasim belonged to Peshawar, therefore, they had considered her against the post for zone 2.

He argued that the said post was for candidate of Zone 2 whereas Ms Ulfat belonged to Zone 1.