LAHORE - A man who was reportedly set free from the Sahiwal prison 12 days ago after serving out his 15-year imprisonment term had not reached home so far, his mother told the Lahore High Court yesterday.

She burst into tears in the courtroom when the judge disposed of her contempt petition on the department’s reply about the release of her son – a claim she was not ready to accept.

Saira Khan had filed contempt petition against the Punjab Prison department seeking contempt proceedings against the officials for not complying with the court orders’ regarding release of her son in 2003 Musharraf attack case.

The Punjab government presented before the court a report of Sahiwal high security jail and maintained that the authorities released the convict, Adnan Khan, on Feb 4 on completion of his sentence.

However, the mother of the convict, rejected the view of the department saying that her son had not been reached home. With tears in her eyes, Saira Khan stated that the jail authorities had not informed the family about the release of Adnan.  The report submitted by the department before the court was false, she alleged.

However, Justice Shahid Hameed Dar disposed of the contempt of court petition in light of the department’s report.

Earlier, the counsel of the petitioner argued that the court directed the jail authorities to recalculate sentence of Adnan including government amnesties/remissions awarded to him and fix his probable release date.

Saira Khan had moved a habeas corpus petition challenging detention of his son Adnan Khan submitting that her son had completed sentence awarded him in former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf attack case.

Advocate Mujahid Waseem, the counsel of the petitioner, had argued that the convict had undergone jail term handed down by a military court but the authorities were delaying his release. He stated military court awarded 15-year punishment to Khan but did not give him benefit in reduction of imprisonment during trial detention under section 382-B of CrPC. The lawyer said detention of the convict was illegal as he had undergone his sentence.

A LHC Rawalpindi bench had dismissed a petition of the convict to this effect, however, a division bench later allowed his intra court appeal with directions to jail authorities to impart him benefit of section 382-B of CrPC and other government remissions. 

On Dec 14, 2003, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf escaped assassination when a bomb exploded near Jhanda Chichi bridge Rawalpinid.