High court moved for production of detained rights activist.

PESHAWAR -- A brother of human rights defender and political activist Idress Khattak on Monday moved the Peshawar High Court seeking orders for the production of his brother and determine legality of his arrest and detention by an intelligence agency.

In a petition, Idress's brother Owais Khattak claimed that an official of the Military Intelligence admitted before the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) in Islamabad on June 17 that his brother was in the intelligence agency's custody and would be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

He requested the court to direct the authorities to produce investigation records under the Official Secrets Act before the high court.

The petitioner said his petition against the disappearance of Idress Khattak, a former provincial general secretary of National Party, since Nov last year was pending with the high court.

Brother also prays court to determine legality of detention by spy agency

He said a focal person of the federal and provincial governments had to submit a statement on behalf of the respondents, including the Military Intelligence (MI), before the high court. The petitioner said the petition was fixed for hearing on July 24.

He said he had sent a letter to the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, a United Nations body, about the disappearance of Idress Khattak, so the respondent (MI) after many months of his detention admitted it before the CIED that the rights defender was in its custody.

The petitioner contended that the detainee was picked up on Nov 13, 2019, and he remained missing until his whereabouts were disclosed before the CIED on June 17, which meant he...