ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Thursday directed ministries of foreign affairs and interior to submit their reply within two weeks about the 150 Pakistani children allegedly imprisoned in Afghanistan.

IHC Chief Justice Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam further directed the deputy attorney general (DAG) to ask the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul to contact the Afghan government to speed up effort for the release of these children.

While talking to the DAG, the chief justice observed that the officials concerned should submit their comments within the given time, and if they failed to do so, their arrest warrants would be issued.

Barrister Mohammad Javed Iqbal Jafree on Wednesday filed a writ petition for the recovery of 150 children from Afghanistan who, he alleged, had been kidnapped by the American government in connivance with the previous Pakistani government.

According to Barrister Jafree, these juveniles were taken away to Afghanistan by the US government with the help of the Pakistani secret agencies.

These children were picked up by the agencies along with their parents, and they still remained confined at unknown places in Afghanistan, Jafree claimed.

He prayed to the court to direct the authorities concerned to arrange for the release of these children.

In another case, the same bench issued notices to the respondents in a case involving an alleged default of Rs9 billion by Haris Steel Mills (HSM) which it borrowed from the Bank of Punjab.

The steel mill owner, making the Bank of Punjab and National Accountability Bureau (NAB) respondents, has petitioned that the mill had been paying back the loan in installments and had not yet defaulted, therefore the NAB reference against it should be quashed.

The accountability bureau in its reference against the steel mill has alleged that the HSM took loans from the bank by showing fake assets and through corrupt practices. According to the bureau the area of the land against which the HSM took loan was only worth Rs4.5 million contrary to the claim of the mill that it was worth Rs20 billion. Thus NAB, under section 31-D of its ordinance, could investigate the matter, the bureau contests.

On its previous hearing, the lawyer of HSM, Dr Babar Awan, had argued before the court that his client did not default, and it had been paying the debt through installments that were settled through an agreement with the bank. The mill has already paid Rs45 million debt through 18 installments and it was ready to pay the remaining amount.