ISLAMABAD, Jan 28: The Supreme Court was informed by the NWFP Advocate-General on Monday that Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who was detained under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, had been released.

The AG’s statement resulted in the disposal of the JI chief’s petition, which, according to the court, had “borne fruit.”

Mohammad Akram Sheikh, counsel for the JI chief, told Dawn that his client had been arrested by the Punjab government under the MPO as soon he was released.

The lawyer said he had received instructions that the matter should be taken up with the apex court, which was not allowed to decide the case on merits.

“We are approaching the Supreme Court not for the release of the JI Amir only, but also for highlighting the contempt of the apex court which was not allowed to pronounce the judgment on merits.”

The advocate-general stated that the JI chief had been released to get him to a medical check-up, as it was prayed by the petitioner himself that he was suffering from heart ailment which had aggravated.

This was the second time that when the matter was raised in the Supreme Court, the provincial government made a statement that the JI leader had been released resulting in the disposal of the petition.

On Nov 15, the advocates-general of Sindh and Balochistan had made the statement that the ban on JI leader’s entry into the two provinces had been withdrawn, resulting in the disposal of the petition.

Advocate Akram Sheikh stated that no citizen can be detained beyond 90 days under the detention laws and Qazi Hussain Ahmad had been detained for 84 days, leaving six more days when he would have to be released.

The request by Mr Sheikh that the petition should be decided on merits was opposed by Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan, who said it would only be an “academic exercise” and superior courts had avoided such exercises in the past.