ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: Relatives of six army officers and a civilian being held by the military authorities for more than 18 months moved on Tuesday the Supreme Court to seek family meetings on Eid day and early hearing of their habeas corpus petitions.

The mother of one and wives of other army officers and a civilian in a fresh application also asked the court to restrain the state authorities from handing over the custody of the detainees to US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). "We strongly apprehend that the detained officers might be handed over to the FBI at the Jacobabad Airport," said the petitioner.

At the last hearing in October, the Supreme Court had directed the Federation through secretaries of the ministries of interior and defence and director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to file a comprehensive reply in the detention case within a week.

Advocate Ikram Mohammad Chaudhry, the counsel of the relatives of the detainees pleaded that since the respondents had not complied with the court's orders to file replies in one week, the Supreme Court should decide the matter ex-parte.

Parents and wives of the detained officers present in the premises of the Supreme Court on the occasion told reporters that they had received letters from the military authorities to vacate the official houses in which the families were living. They said they were also being pressurized not to pursue the case.

"We have not received a word from the officers for the past two months," said the wives, surrounded by their sobbing children.

Their counsel requested the constitution of a larger bench and fixing of the petitions on Nov 11, and presence of the detained officers at the next hearing. He also sought the attention of Chief Justice Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, to the gross human rights violations.

Directions were sought against the respondents to arrange a meeting between the officers and their families on the occasion of Eid. Moreover, fortnightly meetings of these officers with the family members should also be ordered by the court.

The applications were filed by Yasmin Khalid, wife of Col Khalid Mahmood Abbasi, Abida Parveen, wife of Lt-Col Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Mumtaz Attaullah wife of Maj Attaullah Khan Mehmood, Farina Ruhail Faraz, wife of Maj Ruhail Faraz, Khadija Adil, wife of Maj Adil Quddus Khan and Farzana Tasneem, mother of Capt Dr Usman Zafar, all under custody for violating the Army Act. Sadia Sarwar Bhatti, the wife of Sarwar Bhatti, under detention for his alleged involvement in the first assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf at Chanda Chichi, Rawalpindi, was also the mover of the application.