PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday took exception to the security forces’ move of taking away a prisoner from a judicial lock-up in Bajaur tribal district without court orders and directed the federal and provincial to ensure the production of the detainee today (Thursday).

Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and Justice Abdul Shakoor Khan questioned how a prisoner, who was currently a missing person, could be taken away from a prison without production before any court of law.

The bench also ordered the provincial home secretary and deputy commissioner of Bajaur district to appear before it to explain why the illegal development has taken place.

It directed additional advocate general Qaiser Ali Shah to ensure the production of the detainee on Thursday morning.

In his comments, the deputy commissioner had admitted that detainee Abdul Wali was handed over to the administration as a ‘amanat’ (trust) to keep him in the lock-up by the security forces and was subsequently taken away by them.

The bench was hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a resident of Sheen Kot area in Bajaur district, Fazal Raheem, who claimed that his son was taken into custody by security personnel on Mar 1, 2017, while in 2018, he was handed over to then tribal administration of Bajaur Agency.

The petitioner’s counsel, Shabbir Hussain Gigyani, said after the merger of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a petition was filed in the high court on behalf of detainee Abdul Wali as at that time, he was in custody of tribal administration.

He said in the meantime, the high court disposed of the petition as regular courts had begun functioning for ex-Fata and directed the petitioner to approach those courts.

The lawyer said while handing over the detainee to the administration, the security forces had ordered his conviction and award of 10 years imprisonment.

He said an additional advocate general informed the court that the detainee had been convicted.

The lawyer said the relatives came to know that the detainee was taken away from judicial lock-up at Khar by personnel of 206 Wing of Pakistan Army and since then, he had been incommunicado.

He said the deputy commissioner in his comments had admitted in clear terms that the detainee was taken away from lock-up by security forces.

The lawyer said under the law, if the detainee was required in any case to a law-enforcement agency he had to be produced before a magistrate for getting his transit custody, but in present case that procedure had not been followed.

He said the detainee had presently been in illegal detention.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2019