PESHAWAR, July 15: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court on Thursday put the deputy attorney-general on notice in a habeas corpus petition challenging detention of a person allegedly by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for the last five months.

The bench, comprising Justice Ijaz Afzal and Justice Fazalur Rehman Khan, directed the DAG, Salahuddin Khan, to appear on the next hearing. The petitioner, Khalil Ahmad, claimed that his brother, Rafique Ahmad, was picked up by the intelligence agency at Zangali checkpost on Kohat Road in February.

He stated that the whereabouts of the detainee had not been known since then. The respondents in the petition are the Peshawar Corps Commander, the Federation of Pakistan through the secretary of interior, and the officials of the ISI in Peshawar and Islamabad.

The DAG informed the bench that he had not been issued any notice last time in this case. He added that he would represent the respondents in the next hearing as presently he was not aware about the case.

The Additional Advocate General, Imtiaz Ali, contended that he represented the provincial government. He added that he was not representing the present respondents as the petitioner had charged the intelligence agencies for the detention of the detainee, which belonged to the federal government.