ISLAMABAD, June 6: Six Army officers - two colonels, three majors and one captain - are under custody of the military authorities for violations of the Army Act, officials told Dawn.

ISPR Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan confirmed that the officers had been taken into custody for various violations last year. However, he declined to say any thing about the charges under which the officers had been held, saying that the case was in a court for adjudication.

Members of the families of Col Ghaffar, Col Khalid Abbass, Maj Attaullah Khan, Maj Rohail Faraz, Maj Adil Qadoos Khan and Captain Usman Zafar have petitioned the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court against their detention.

Advocate Ikram Chaudhry said he would be moving an application for an early hearing of the cases in the High Court on Monday. He said the petitions against the detention were filed in the High Court in April and since then four hearings had been held.

But, he said, the government had not said why had the officers been detained. The secretaries interior and defence were supposed to file the government's reply on Friday (June 4), but the hearing was adjourned.