PESHAWAR, Oct 20: The Peshawar High Court on Friday issued notice to the NWFP advocate general on a writ petition challenging detention of four people, including a 104-year-old man, under the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) for more than three years.

A bench comprising Justice Qaim Jan Khan and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan took up for preliminary hearing the petition filed by chairman World Prisoners Relief Commission Jawed Ibrahim Paracha.

Through the petition he has questioned detention of Afghan nationals Dilbar Khan, Syed Ameen Shah and Maulana Inayatur Rehman and a Pakistani, Ismael Khan.

The petitioner has claimed that according to the prison record, Dildar Khan is 104 years old. The four people have been detained without any plausible reason and are initially dubbed as Al-Qaeda suspects.

Advocate Qazi Muhammad Anwer appeared for the petitioner and argued that foreigners could not be arrested under section 40 of the FCR.

He contended that the detainees had been imprisoned for more than three years despite the fact they had not committed any crime.

The NWFP government through home secretary and the Peshawar prison authorities have been made respondents in the petition.