PESHAWAR, Aug 28 The Peshawar High Court on Friday put on notice the provincial government and the Haripur district coordination officer (DCO) in a writ petition filed by the Haripur Tehsil nazim challenging his detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance.

A single bench comprising Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan was hearing the petition filed by the nazim, Iftikhar Ali, who has been imprisoned in connection with the murder of an MPA, Akhter Nawaz Khan.

The petitioner was granted bail by the high court on Aug 19, but the Haripur DCO the same day issued an order under section 3 of the MPO directing that he should remain in the prison for a month.

Advocate Gohar Rehman Khattak appeared for the petitioner and contended that the impugned order issued under the MPO was illegal and unconstitutional.

He added that there was no material with the DCO on the basis of which detention order of the petitioner could be issued.

The counsel argued that the impugned order was based on mala fide intentions as the rival party of the petitioner was very influential. He added that the petitioner was charged with the killing of the ANP MPA Akhter Nawaz Khan and on the vacant seat the brother of the deceased Gohar Nawaz got elected.

Akhter Nawaz Khan was killed on Sept 10, 2008, when some persons fired at him when he was returning back from a funeral. His brother-in-law, Mushtaq Ali, who was accompanying him, charged the Tehsil nazim, Iftikhar, and two others -- Asad Jawed and Imran Akhter -- in the FIR registered at Kalabat police station.

The petitioner was granted bail on the ground that at the time of occurrence he was abroad in Dubai and his passport carried the concerned stamps.—Bureau Report