Court wants information about newsman
PESHAWAR – The Peshawar High Court has directed the deputy attorney-general to inquire from the ministry of defence and Peshawar Corps Headquarters regarding the whereabouts of a detained Afghan journalist, Sami Yousafzai, and his driver Mohammad Saleem.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Malik Hamid Saeed and Justice Dost Mohammad Khan fixed June 8 for next hearing of a petition filed by Mr. Abdullah, a cousin of Sami Yousafzai, a correspondent of weekly Newsweek.
The provincial police officer expressed ignorance about the detention of the two men. The personal staff officer (PSO) appeared before the court and said that the NWFP police had neither arrested the two men nor they were aware about their detention.
He submitted that they had also contacted the district police officers of Bannu and Kohat, but they were also not aware about their detention.
The bench observed that the provincial government was responsible for the safety of its citizen and it should be aware if any of its citizens were picked by intelligence agencies.
The court observed that even if the detainees were picked by the intelligence agencies, the police concerned should be aware of it. The bench also expressed annoyance at why the agency concerned had been keeping the detention of the detainees secret.€
Source: Dawn
Date:5/29/2004
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