PESHAWAR, Oct 24: A two-member Peshawar High Court bench expressed displeasure over the Peshawar cantonment station commander’s continued failure to respond in writing to a petition against the blockade of several local roads and asked him to produce the same within a week.

Acting Chief Justice Miftauddin Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth directed deputy attorney general Mohammad Iqbal Mohmand to ensure that the sought-after reply reach the court within the stipulated time.

They also asked the Peshawar capital city police chief to clarify his position on the deployment of policemen along with army personnel at several security checkpoints.

The petitioner, Mohammad Essa Khan, a senior lawyer, said the entire Khyber Road, one of the key roads in the city, had been declared a ‘no go area’ for public transport vehicles to the misery of commuters.

He said the ban had increased traffic rush on Sher Shah Suri Road.

Mr Essa said the bench had been seeking comments from the station commander of Peshawar cantonment for many months but he had not been filing the same.

Justice Waqar asked the DAG why the station commander had not been obeying the court order.

The DAG replied that he would contact the station commander and would try to furnish the reply on the next hearing.

Mr Essa said it had become a routine practice for traffic police to close down roads when the corps commander used them.

He requested the bench to order removal of barricades from the road between Rehman Baba Square and Gora Qabristan area to ease traffic mess.

Justice Miftauddin asked how a road could be closed down to traffic for an individual and observed that people could be stopped from using a road only in emergency or during war.

Additional advocate general Naveed Akhtar told the bench that traffic police claimed they had nothing to do with the closure of roads in cantonment area.

The petitioner asked if police had no connection with road blockades, then why their personnel were deputed along with army officials on Khyber Road checkpoints.

HABEAS CORPUS CASE: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday put on notice the Inter-Services Intelligence director general and Bacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar general manager in a habeas corpus petition against the alleged illegal detention of an Airport Security Force (ASF) inspector.

A bench comprising Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk and Justice Roohul Amin Chamkani directed the respondents, including the ISI DG and the airport’s general manager, to explain their position on the matter and adjourned the hearing.

The schedule for the next hearing will be announced later.

The petition was filed by Rehmanullah Khan against the alleged illegal detention of his cousin, Attaullah Khan.

His lawyer Danyal Asad Chamkani said the detainee was an inspector in ASF and was posted to Bacha Khan International Airport.

He said on Sept 28, 2012, the detainee left the airport with his colleague, Jawed Khan, on a motorcycle and was stopped by an official of ISI, who identified himself as Colonel Rashid.

According to him, when other employees present on the occasion stepped in, then the said official claimed he had obtained permission from the airport’s general manager to take Mr Attaullah with him for interrogation in a case. The lawyer said the ASF officer accompanied the ISI officer and had been missing since.