PESHAWAR, Sept 23: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court here on Monday handed over two minor girls to their elder sister.

The bench comprising Justice Malik Hamid Saeed and Justice Abdur Rauf Lughmani accepted a habeas corpus petition filed by Mussarat Bibi, claiming that her two minor sisters were in possession of their uncles and they were facing threat as their uncles had been trying to grab their property.

During the last hearing, the court had summoned the two girls, Haya Bibi (12) and Shabnam (4). When they were produced before the court on Monday, the bench took exception to the negligence on the part of the SHO concerned of Bannu district as the two girls were sent to the court along with the uncles who they had charged in the petition.

The court directed the superintendent of police, Bannu, to take departmental action against the SHO for the negligence on his part.

In the petition, the girl, Mussarat, resident of Dararoa area of Bannu, has claimed that her father, Khyal Wazir, was killed a year ago. Later on, her mother was also murdered by some unknown assailants.

She claimed that they suspected that their two uncles, Hakeem Khan and Feroz Khan, were involved in the killing of their parents so that they could grab their property.

The petitioner stated that after the death of their parents their uncles started torturing them and asked them to put their thumb impression on certain documents.

She claimed that she escaped along with her two minor brothers and a maternal grandmother, but her two sisters could not accompany them. She prayed the court to summon her sisters and hand them over to her. They are currently residing in the local Darul Aman.

Advocate Hazrat appeared for the petitioner and contended that as the two girls were facing threat to their lives, they should be handed over to the petitioner.

Additional Advocate General, Mussarat Hillali, appeared for the government and stated that the girls would be in safe custody if they were sent to the Darul Aman where the elder sister had already been staying.