Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench has rejected all the petitions regarding the habeas corpus of the nuclear scientists and officials of the Khan Research Laboratories.
The Division bench of the august court consisting of Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq and Justice Mansoor Ahmed has passed this short order after reviewing the secret record regarding the detention of the scientists and the KRL officials and has declared the argument of the Attorney General as valid.
The petition was filed in the august court by the family members of scientists and KRL officials including Dr Farooq Ahmed, Major Islamul Haq (Retd), Dr Nazir Ahmed, Brigadier Sajawal Malik (Retd), Brig Mohammad Iqbal Tajwar (Retd), Shamimud Din, Abdul Hameed, Mansoor Ahmed and Technician Shamim Ahmed.
In their petition they pleaded before the august court that the detention of the nuclear scientists and KRL officials should be declared as illegal and government should be directed to release these persons.
They also pleaded in their petition that the august court should issue the production orders of the detainees and record their statements in the court.
Court should direct the government that till the completion of the investigation the detained persons not be moved out of the jurisdiction of the court and nor they should be handed over to any foreign agency, the petition read.
The petitioners made the Federal Government, Secretary Interior, Ministry of Information, Inter Services Intelligence and the Inter Services Public Relations the party.
The Attorney General of Pakistan, in his reply filed before the august court, stated that all the person have been arrested under the Security of Pakistan Act 1952, under the allegations of nuclear proliferation. They have transferred the nuclear technology out of Pakistan.
In his reply, he stated that this is very sensitive issue of national security and the august court has no jurisdiction to hear this case and added that the case should be heard by a special review board constituted by Chief Justice of Pakistan.
As this is a very sensitive and high profile issue and this court has no jurisdiction to hear it, the august court should reject these petitions.
The august court after hearing the argument and reviewing the secret documents has rejected the petitions.