PESHAWAR, March 1: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday summoned the SHO of Khwazakhela police station (Swat) in a habeas corpus petition challenging alleged illegal detention of a young man, suspected of having links with militants.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Shehzad Akbar Khan and Justice Ijazul Hassan fixed March 8 for next hearing and ordered that the SHO should appear in person on that date.

The petition has been filed by Mohammad Zarin, father of the detainee Shafiq Ahmad, stating that his son had been in illegal detention since Sep 28, 2004. The detainee was allegedly picked by the police along with plain-clothed officials of an intelligence agency from Charbagh area.

Advocate Qazi Mohammad Anwer appeared for the petitioner and contended that since his arrest his whereabouts were not known. He added that the detainee had not been produced before any court of law.

Last month the court had summoned the SHO of Charbagh police station, an ASI of the Swat police appeared before the court and stated that there was no police station in Charbagh. He added that the said area was in the jurisdiction of police station Khwazakhela.