PESHAWAR, Nov 26: A local court on Saturday indicted two Algerians on charges of possessing forged Pakistani national identity cards. The two accused, Riba Mohammad alias Azizullah and Mohammad Saeed, pleaded not guilty to the charge and decided to stand trial.

The court presided over by judicial magistrate Mohsin Ali Turk fixed Dec 3 for the next hearing and summoned five prosecution witnesses including three officials of Crime Investigation Department (CID) and two of special branch police officials.

According to the prosecution, the accused were picked up on June 5, 2004, from Faisal Colony here on Dalazak Road. They were charged with possessing forged identity cards, a charge later confirmed by Nadra. They were charged under sections 419, 420, 468 and 471.

The accused have been residing in Pakistan for the last many years and were also married to Pakistani girls in Swat district.

The CID claimed that it had information about the presence of some Al Qaeda suspects in Faisal Colony. When they raided the houses, they found the two Algerians there.