PESHAWAR: The government informed the Peshawar High Court on Tuesday that it had amended the rules on the meetings of dangerous prisoners with relatives once in two months and that, too, after the production of a clearance certificate from the relevant superintendent of police.

Additional advocate general Umar Farooq Adam told Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Qaiser Rasheed that the government had reports from the intelligence agencies that several people kept in different prisons and internment centres of the province were in contact with terrorists.

He said as a precautionary measure, the provincial government had formulated the policy and amended the prison rules following which close relatives of a prisoner could only meet him once in two months.

Mr. Adam said the relative had to produce a certificate from the SP of the relevant district stating he or she was not involved in any criminal offence.

This information was provided to the bench during the hearing into two petitions, including one filed by Nabeela, mother of a juvenile offender detained at Haripur Central Prison, and the other by Bacha Gul, whose son is kept at Malakand internment centre.

Both the petitioners had challenged the restrictions placed by the government in meeting their respective sons.

The bench expressed astonishment at the condition placed by the government of producing certificate from the SP for the relatives’ meeting with prisoners.

The chief justice asked how the certificate could be acquired from the SP as under the current circumstances, it was difficult for the ordinary citizens to approach the SP.

Justice Qaiser Rasheed observed that it was ironic that a mother would require clearance certificate from the police to meet her son.

Mohammad Altaf, lawyer for petitioner Ms Nabeela, said her son, Ijaz Khan, was a juvenile Prisoners at provincial jails in contact with terrorists, PHC told arrested over a murder in 2012 and had already been convicted.

He said for the last one year, his client and other family members had not been permitted to meet Ijaz Khan kept at Haripur Central Prison, a violation of the prison rules.

The AAG said the provincial government had received reports from intelligence agencies that the prisoner had contacts with terrorists and that was not possible without the support of relatives who meet them in the prison.

He however said after the introduction of the new policy, the petitioner could meet her son after fulfilling the requirement.

The bench directed the provincial government to ensure that the petitioner meet her son at least once in two months.

In the other case, the petitioner said his son, a resident of Warsak Road area, was taken into custody by the law-enforcement agencies on the charge of possessing explosive materials and was later on convicted by the court of Orakzai Agency assistant political agent.

He said his son, Mazharul Haq, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment and was currently kept at the Malakand internment centre but he was not allowed to meet him.

The bench directed the petitioner to apply for a meeting with his son in light of the new policy made by the provincial government for the purpose.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2016

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