ISLAMABAD: The wife of a serving brigadier, who was working as a director in Defence Housing Authority, Quetta and is said to be in the custody of military authorities, has asked the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench to declare her husband’s detention illegal.

Ummaira Saleem, wife of Brigadier Akhtar Subhan, said her husband was taken into custody by officials of Special Investigation Branch of the Military Police on June 22, 2023.

The case was fixed for hearing on Sept 13 and Justice Jawad Hassan of the Lahore High Court had initially raised objections during the hearing of the case that the petitioner could not seek relief from the high court as Article 199 (3) of the Constitution barred the high court from taking up the matter related to personnel of armed forces.

The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Inamur Rahim, however, cited a number of cases in which the superior courts entertained such petitions and also set aside the orders of the military authorities.

The LHC then issued notice to the defence ministry and other respondents, and sought their replies and adjourned the hearing till Sept 14 since it was a habeas corpus petition. However, in the written order, the date of the next hearing was mentioned as Oct 6.

The petitioner filed another application on Tuesday, seeking an early hearing of the case. She cited sections 74 and 75 of Pakistan Army Act, 1952, read with Rule 23 and 24 of the Pakistan Army Act Rules, 1957, and claimed that the arrest and custody of Brig Subhan was illegal.

The petition said that the burden of the proof in a habeas corpus matter is always on the detaining authority to prove that the detention is lawful.

It requested the court to decide the case as quickly as possible. The Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench will now hear the petition on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

China security ties
Updated 14 Nov, 2024

China security ties

If China's security concerns aren't addressed satisfactorily, it may affect bilateral ties. CT cooperation should be pursued instead of having foreign forces here.
Steep price
14 Nov, 2024

Steep price

THE Hindu Kush-Himalayan region is in big trouble. A new study unveiled at the ongoing COP29 reveals that if high...
A high-cost plan
14 Nov, 2024

A high-cost plan

THE government has approved an expensive plan for FBR in the hope of tackling its deep-seated inefficiencies. The...
United stance
Updated 13 Nov, 2024

United stance

It would've been better if the OIC-Arab League summit had announced practical measures to punish Israel.
Unscheduled visit
13 Nov, 2024

Unscheduled visit

Unusual IMF visit shows the lender will closely watch implementation of programme goals to prevent it from derailing.
Bara’s businesswomen
13 Nov, 2024

Bara’s businesswomen

Bara’s brave women have proven that with the right support, societal barriers can be overcome.