PESHAWAR, Nov 22: The provincial government has termed the detention of Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad legal and in accordance with law, and requested the Peshawar High Court to dismiss his writ petition.

In its comments filed in reply with the petition of the JI’s chief on Thursday, the NWFP home department stated that the petitioner had concealed facts from the high court and his petition was not maintainable.

Earlier, a two-member bench of the high court took exception to delay on the part of the government in filing comments on the writ petition of Qazi Hussain Ahmad, challenging his detention at the Tanda Dam rest house in Kohat.

The bench comprising Justice Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai and Justice Qazi Ahsanullah Qureshi observed that during the last hearing the additional advocate-general had promised that the comments would be filed within a day.

Advocate-General Qazi Rasheedul Haq informed the court that he had received the comments of the home department on Wednesday night. He submitted the comments before the bench and sought time for preparing the case.

The bench expressed annoyance to his request but finally allowed him a day by fixing the case for Friday.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocates Arif Khan and Arbab Usman argued that the government had deliberately been delaying the matter with a view to keeping the petitioner detained. They stated that the detention was illegal.

The government has claimed that Qazi Hussain Ahmad was detained because his presence outside was “prejudicial to public peace and tranquillity”.

The petitioner had earlier challenged his house arrest, but had to file an amended petition after he was shifted to the rest house. He had also challenged in the Supreme Court the ban on his entry into Sindh and Balochistan. However, his petition in the apex court was disposed of after the two provincial governments informed that the ban was no longer in place.

The Jamaat leader has stated that on Nov 3 the secretary of the home department had served a notice on him wherein he was directed not to reside, remain or enter any part of the Bajaur Agency.

The provincial government, he added, issued another order on Nov 5 wherein he was confined to house arrest. Later, the petitioner stated, he was shifted to the rest house from his home.