PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday sought comments from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and provincial police officer (PPO) in a case against the alleged illegal detention of a suspected terrorist.

The suspect was arrested over a year ago along with an alleged would-be suicide bomber.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk and Justice Qaiser Rasheed directed the respondents in the case, including the government and the PPO, to file comments and explain position over the reported arrest of the detainee, Jehangir Khan.

It later adjourned hearing until March 18.

The bench also adjourned hearing of around 98 habeas corpus petitions related to enforced disappearances to the same date with the direction that the respondents who had so far not filed their comments in these petitions file it before next hearing.In most cases, the respondents are the ministries of defense and interior, provincial home department, PPO, etc.

When the bench began hearing into the cases, Ziaul Haq, lawyer for missing person Jehangir Khan, said his client was arrested by police on Nov 20, 2012 near Sarband on Bara Road while he was riding a motorcycle.

He said a teenaged would-be suicide bomber, Bilal Khan, was also arrested by police, who suspected that he was his handler.

The lawyer said while the suspected suicide bomber was produced before the court and sent to prison, his client had been missing since and the police had been expressing ignorance about his arrest.

He said his client’s arrest was reported in both print and electronic media and earlier, the high court had directed the PPO to identify the officials, who had taken him into custody.

The lawyer, however, said the government and the PPO had so far not filed comments in the case.

Despite rough weather, people turned up in a large number carrying placards and portraits of their missing relatives.

Among them were several women and elders.

Ms Badshah, who belonged to Swat district, claimed her son, Abdul Sattar, a student of Jehanzeb College, Swat, was taken into custody by security forces in Sept 2009 and since then, he had been missing.

She said she belonged to a poor family and had frequently been visiting the high court but whereabouts of her son continued to be unknown.

In another petition, Amna Lateef alleged that security personnel riding over two dozens vehicles had taken away her husband, Abdul Lateef, and brother Abdul Malik from Tank district on July 17, 2009.

She claimed that the two were in the custody of an intelligence agency.

As the defence and interior ministries have already expressed ignorance regarding the whereabouts of the two persons, the petition has been pending with the court for over three years.

Similarly, Ikramullah Khattak said his cousin, Jamal Abdul Tahir, was picked up from near his house in posh Defence Colony in Peshawar on June 29, 2011, by people wearing the uniform of Elite Force and since then, he had been incommunicado.

Some petitioners said their missing family members were taken away by the law enforcement agencies many years ago and their whereabouts were still unknown.

Currently, around 500 habeas corpus petitions are pending with the court. In most cases, the government agencies and security forces have already expressed ignorance about the detainees.