PESHAWAR, Jan 8: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the federal and NWFP government in a writ petition challenging the detention of Arab nationals.

A single bench, comprising Justice Tallat Qayyum Qureshi, fixed Thursday for next hearing. The petition is filed by a former MNA, Jawed Ibraheem Paracha, stating that the detention of Arab and other Muslims in connection with their suspected links with Al-Qaeda organisations, was illegal and against the Constitution of Pakistan.

Advocates Mukhtar Ahmad Tarar and Muzamil KHattak appeared for the petitioner and requested the court to issue any interim order for the production of all the detainees before the court. The counsels argued that the detainees had been kept in extremely inhuman conditions, which was in violation of law.

The bench observed that without hearing the respondents the court could not issue any order. On repeated requests of the counsel the bench decided to fix the case for a short date and issued notice to the Federation of Pakistan through secretary of the Cabinet Division and NWFP government through chief secretary.

The petitioner has contended that the detainees were entitled to be produced before this court forthwith and be dealt in accordance with law. He added that any action taken against them which was not subscribed, prescribed or warranted by any law would be ultra vires, without lawful authority and of no legal effect.

The names of the detainees given by the petitioner are: Yousaf al-Din (Egypt), Ahmad Abdullah (Morocco), Noorud Din Abdullah (Morocco), Irfan (Iraq), Sabit Khan (Afghanistan), Mansoor Muhammad (Saudi Arabia), Muhammad Sharif (Saudi Arabia), Yasin Muhammad (Yemen), Yameen Muhammad (Yemen), Abdullah (S Arabia), Anwar (S Arabia), Fouzi Khalid (Kuwait), Muhammad Saleh (Africa), Muhammad Saeed (Yemen), Asim (Yemen), Abdullah Abid (S Arabia), Mars Ansari (Yemen), Marood Muhammad (Yemen), Muhammad Abdullah (Yemen), Tariq Ali Abdullah (Yemen), Abay Sana Ali (Yemen), Mussab (Morocco), Feroze Muhammad (Morocco), Muhammad Abdullah (Qundooz), Ahmad (Spain), Abdur Raheem (Morocco), Abdul Rehman (S Arabia), Moin (Pakistan resident of S Arabia), Faiz Ahmad (Yemen), Abdul Aziz Muhammad (S Arabia), Abdul Aziz Abdul rehman (S Arabia), Adil saeed (Yemen), Mahmood Khalil (S Arabia), Muhammad (Kuwait), Zubair Muhammad (Kuwait), Ziad Saleh (S Arabia), Khalid Abdullah (Kuwait), Abdullah Isa (Yemen), Abu Ziad (Yemen), Yousaf (S Arabia), Abdul Hadi Abdullah (S Arabia), Ziad (S Arabia), Muhammad Abdullah (Yemen), Abdullah Muhammad (Behrain), Maneh Ya Marrah (Behrain), Rehman Abdul rauf (Bangladesh), Turki Ambri (S Arabia), Makber Muhammad (Yemen), Muhammad (Yemen), Khalid Hussain Abraqi(S Arabia), Abdullah (Algeria), Mehdi Saleh (Sudan), Ahmad (Morocco), Khalid (France), Abdul Wahab (France), Talib Abdul Aziz (Algeria) and Ahmad Abdullah (Yemen).