A petition challenging the allegedly unlawful detention of a frontline Al-Qaeda operative, Shaikh Khalid Muhammad, filed by his sister Mariam, was disposed off Thursday, March 6, by a division bench of the High Court of Sindh (SHC) comprising Justice Azizullah M. Memon and Justice Arshad Noor Khan. Ghulam Qadir Jatoi advocate, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that news items carried by the local and foreign media have alleged that the detainee was in the custody of the US authorities. The bench made it clear that the case was futile as the petition cited the Pakistani authorities, including the Federal Interior Secretary, DG ISI, DG IB, Home Secretary Sindh. The court has no command or jurisdiction over foreign authorities, the bench observed while disposing of the petition. Shaikh Khalid Muhammad was arrested from a Karachi township and was handed over to the US authorities. He was identified as a chief Al-Qaeda operative.