RAWALPINDI: Lahore High Court (LHC) has ord­ered the military authorities to produce a brigadier detained over alleged corruption and involvement in anti-state activities.

The LHC’s Rawalpindi bench passed the order on Thursday while hearing the habeas corpus petition filed by Brig Akhtar Subhan’s wife, Ummaira Saleem.

During the hearing, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Mohammad Siddiq Awan argued the detained brigadier was a serving officer and was taken into custody in accordance with the Pakistan Army Act and Army Rules and Regulations — the laws, among other things, governing the conduct of military officials.

Ms Saleem’s counsel, Advocate Inamur Rahim, requested the court to issue the production order of the detained officer.

Subsequently, Justice Jawad Hassan directed the authorities to produce the detained officer.

He observed that Brig Subhan was no longer a missing person as authorities disclosed his whereabouts and later adjourned further proceedings till Sept 26.

In her plea, Ms Saleem claimed her husband was taken into custody by officials of the Special Investi­gation Branch of the Military Police on June 22.

During previous hearings, Justice Hassan raised questions over the court’s domain to hear the matter, saying Article 199 (3) of the Constitution excludes matters related to the proceedings of the armed forces personnel from the purview of the high courts.

However, the counsel, Mr Rahim, cited 15 instances where courts not only heard such cases but also set aside the orders of the military authorities.

Published in Dawn, September 22th, 2023