PESHAWAR, Jan 13: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday disposed of a habeas corpus petition challenging the continuous detention of five alleged suspects of Al Qaeda by the administration of Khyber Agency.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Tariq Pervez and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan directed the petitioner to move the proper forum under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR).

The bench observed that the petitioner had earlier filed appeal against the order of the assistant political agent before the FCR commissioner and now he had the option to move the FCR tribunal.

The five detainees, stated to be Afghan refugees, were allegedly picked by officials of an intelligence agency in 2003 and were handed over to the administration of Khyber Agency in June, 2004.

The petition is filed by Abdul Bari, brother of a detainee Abdul Baqi. The other four detainees are Daud Khan, Noor Muhammad, Mohsin Khan and Ashiq Ali. The petitioner claimed that on June 13, 2003, some officials of an intelligence agency in plainclothes raided the resident of his brother situated in Tajabad, University Road, and picked the five detainees.

The petitioner stated that in last June the five detainees were handed over to the administration of Khyber Agency and the assistant political agent of Bara tehsil sentenced them to three years imprisonment under section 40 of the Frontier Crimes Regulation. He added that on Sept 18 the FCR commissioner accepted their appeal and ordered that they should be released forthwith.