PESHAWAR, May 10: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Prisons Khalid Abbas told the Peshawar High Court on Thursday that they would resist any undue pressure from intelligence agencies if they were provided protection by the court.

He also told a bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Miftauddin Khan that he had ordered all superintendents of prisons in the province to stop illegal contacts with intelligence agencies.

The chief justice directed the IG to follow the jail manual and said the judiciary would provide them protection if they worked within the parameters of Constitution.

Hearing several cases of missing persons, the bench fixed May 16 for further hearing while observing that the agencies should stop illegal activities till that date, failing which the court would take drastic steps against them. The court has fixed dozens of cases of missing persons on that date and summoned senior officials of federal and provincial governments.

The PHC bench on Thursday asked several senior lawyers present in the courtroom to assist the court on subjects like the Army Act, Action (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulation and different notifications concerning the functioning of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

The chief justice observed that the court wanted to decide this issue once and for all, as the missing persons’ cases were on the rise.

The IG prison appeared on the court notice in a habeas corpus petition related to alleged lifting of two brothers, Zahidullah and Sufaid, from outside Mardan district prison when they were released on court orders on Jan 20, 2011. During previous hearing Zahidullah had informed the court that they were taken to Saddar police station in Mardan from where persons in plainclothes took them away.

The chief justice observed that prison authorities, particularly superintendents, were keeping close contact with intelligence agencies whenever anyone in missing persons’ case was released. Mr Abbas stated that intelligence officials were present everywhere and they were aware of the release of prisoners even before the prison officials were communicated the court orders in such cases. The chief justice observed that if the situation remained as such they would be compelled to order the government to depute honest district management group officers as jail superintendents.

Mr Abbas said that in his report submitted to the court he had suggested that a surveillance officer should be deputed in each prison for looking after such activities. He stated that he had asked all superintendents not to keep contact with agencies. “They (agencies) are not giving any allowance to us and instead we have to face embarrassment before the courts,” he added. The IG said that in future they would inform the concerned police station to provide protection to a prisoner if it was evident that he would be picked up by the agencies from outside the prison.

The bench asked deputy attorney general Mohammad Iqbal Mohmand about progress on the proposal given by the court to enact a special law for checking the incidents of “enforced disappearances.” Mr Mohmand stated that as the government was engaged in several problems, there was no development on that side.

The chief justice observed that the entire burden had been shifted to the judiciary and the government had been acting like a spectator.

Meanwhile, in a petition filed by one Redi Gul, challenging alleged illegal detention of his son Sanam Gul, the petitioner’s wife appeared and informed the court that the petitioner had recently died of cardiac arrest.

The woman, Bahadur Bibi, said that she had visited the high court several times, but her son had still not been recovered.