QUETTA, Sept 13: A division bench of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Thursday issued notices to respondents in two separate petitions challenging alleged illegal arrests.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai and Justice Akhtar Zaman Malghani granted adjournment sought by the deputy attorney general in a petition filed by Mollam Khan against the arrest of Abdur Razzak from Qila Abdullah on August 10, 2006.

The petitioner prayed the court to order release of the detainee who had been in custody for one year with no case registered against him.

In another petition, Lal Khan submitted that on the night between August 25 and 26 this year law-enforcement agencies arrested 32 persons from the New Kahan suburb of the city and nine of them were his relatives and pleaded the court to order their release.

Anti-Terrorist Force superintendent Amir Khan Mandokhel appeared before the court and denied the arrest of Lal Khan’s relatives.

The court, after issuing notices to the secretary of the ministry of defence, commandants of spy agencies, commandant of Kuli Camp, provincial home secretary and superintendent of the crimes branch, Quetta, adjourned the hearing in both cases to next dates.