ISLAMABAD   -  The Supreme Court of Pakistan Tuesday clubbed petition of Arif Gull’s grandfather with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government appeal on Action in Aid of Civil Power.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed conducted hearing of Sultan Muhammad habeas corpus petition regarding detention of his grandson Arif Gull who had been in the Kohat Internment Centre since 2019. During the hearing, Advocate General KP informed that Arif Gull is available in the court. The Chief Justice in Urdu asked from him that why the authorities had arrested him. The AG informed the chief justice that the internee does not understand Urdu and can speak only in Pashtu. He then translated Gull’s statement for the bench members in Urdu.

According to Gull, he was working in a hotel and the authorities arrested him on the complaint of someone. Additional Attorney General Sajid Illyas informed that Gull is facing an allegation of attacking the check post of a security force at Kandau, near the border with Afghanistan in 2019, and since then, he has been under detention at the Kohat internment centre.

Justice Gulzar then questioned that whether a person could be kept in internment centre without trial. Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed, who was also present in the court, informed that the case related to legality of internment centres is already pending before the apex court. He then requested the bench to club this petition with the KP appeal on Action in Aid of Civil Power.

The court accepted his plea but directed the authorities to ensure safety of the internee and arrange his meeting with his father and grandfather according the prescribed rules of the jails. Then, the bench deferred the hearing of the case for indefinite period.