PESHAWAR, Feb 17: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday put on notice an additional home secretary of the Sindh government on a writ petition challenging the suspension of prison term of a convicted drug trafficker, Amanullah Kundi.

A two-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Shehzad Akber Khan, fixed Feb 23 for next hearing. The court directed the counsel of Mr Kundi to appear before the court on the day. The Anti Narcotics Force has challenged the suspension of the term of Mr Kundi by the NWFP government last year.

On Feb 1, the court had ordered that Mr Kundi should appear in person. However, he could not turn up on Wednesday and his counsel, Yahya Afridi, informed the court that he was suffering from heart ailment and had been undergoing treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. He requested the bench to exempt the convict from personal appearance.

However, the bench observed that he should appear before the court because his release had also been challenged. The deputy attorney general, Salahuddin Khan, informed the bench that he had contacted additional secretary, Sindh, Abdul Qadir Memon, who was ready to appear before the court.

The court directed that Mr Memon should appear on next hearing with the relevant record. The NWFP government claims that it had received the consent of the Sindh government before suspending the prison term as Mr Kundi had been convicted in Karachi.

Mr Kundi, former provincial minister, was released on July 17, 2004, after suspension of his prison term by the government on medical grounds. He was sentenced to 25 years rigorous imprisonment by a speedy trial court in Karachi in 1991 for a bid to smuggle 10kg heroin. After his conviction, he was shifted to the NWFP.

However, Mr Kundi escaped from police custody in a D.I Khan hospital and remained absconder for almost a decade. In 2003, he surrendered to the government and sought suspension of his prison term on medical ground. On Mar 24, 2004, the provincial government suspended the remaining term.

However, the ANF had challenged the government notification and the Peshawar High Court ordered the government on July 17 not to release Mr Kundi. However, Mr Kundi, who was admitted to the hospital in DI Khan, had left the premises and the order could not be implemented.