LAHORE, Nov 21: The Foreign Affairs Ministry admitted before the Lahore High Court on Thursday that six Pakistani citizens had been repatriated by the US government after releasing them from Bagram Theatre Internment Camp, Afghanistan.

A standing counsel submitted the ministry’s written reply before the court during hearing of a petition filed by the Justice Project Pakistan, a non-profit law firm, for the release and return of Pakistani citizens detained at the Bagram jail by the US authorities.

The counsel said the six detainees were handed over to the Pakistani authorities on Nov 16, 2013, after their release.

He further stated the ministry could only confirm the fact of the Pakistani detainees’ repatriation and their current whereabouts and status could be ascertained by the interior ministry.

Petitioner’s counsel Maryam Haq argued that delaying the detainees access to their families and lawyers would only further compound their misery.

She said though the state’s acknowledgment of release and repatriation of these Pakistanis had been a source of relief, but there was nothing to celebrate (for their friends and families) as they had been just moved from one illegal detention to another.

Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan directed the state counsel to contact interior ministry and provide information to the court about the whereabouts and status of the repatriated detainees by Nov 25.

dengue deaths: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Thursday remarked that health affairs figured at the bottom of the Punjab government’s priority list and one-man show reigned in the province.

The chief justice was hearing a petition that questioned the failure of the government to control deaths by dengue and sought action against the authorities.

As the hearing started, Advocate Azhar Siddique argued that people continued to die of dengue due to poor management of the government. He said the government held many awareness seminars on dengue but failed to adopt any practical measure. He requested the court to sought detailed report from the Punjab government.

An additional advocate general told the court that the government had been working sincerely to control the outbreak. He said the secretary and director general of health had been replaced and the successors were taking effective measures. He also submitted reports of the EDO health and the CCPO about action taken against violators of the government’s directions on dengue control programme.

The CJ asked the law officer to apprise on next hearing whether the Punjab government made any policy to eliminate dengue outbreak. The CJ adjourned hearing till Dec 3.