Islamabad [Pakistan], Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on Monday ordered that Kashmiri poet Ahmed Farhad be declared a case of "enforced disappearance or missing person", reports Pakistan-based Dawn. Until he returns home safely.
"Syed Farhad Ali Shah is hereby declared a missing/disappeared person until he safely reaches his home," a written order from the court hearing on Friday said, Dawn reported.
In the written order, Justice Kayani said that when Farhad reaches his residence, the investigating officer of Lohi Bher police station in Islamabad will proceed to record his statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) before a judicial magistrate. Were obliged. With the results of the investigation".
On the matter of bringing together all such cases of enforced disappearances pending before the IHC and creating a larger bench to hear them, Justice Kayani directed that the cases be presented before IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq "so that he can give his Can form it by using administrative powers.A bigger bench so that this matter of public interest can be dealt with in a better way,” said the don.
Ahmed Farhad was reportedly abducted from his home on May 15. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded the immediate release of the poet. On the same day, a petition filed by the Pakistani poet's wife requested the court to produce Farhad before the court and take action against the culprits.
Justice Kayani had also framed 12 questions, most of which were about the functions and responsibilities of the spy agencies - Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).After several orders were issued by the Islamabad High Court, Farhad's case came to the fore again on May 29, when the government told the court that the poet would be booked under a case registered on the same day for obstructing the work of a public servant. Was in the custody of Jammu and Kashmir Police. Duty.
Earlier, a special anti-terrorism court in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) had rejected the bail plea of abducted Ahmed Farhad Shah. As per a previous report by Dawn, while dismissing the petition, the court said that the legal points raised by his lawyer are not applicable to the case.
Earlier, poet and journalist Shah had read a poem of resistance against Pakistani oppression at the IHC despite being chained during his transportation. In the footage surfaced on social media, he is shown reciting his own couplet in the court.Shah was reportedly kidnapped and forcibly disappeared by Pakistan's intelligence service ISI.
Ahmed Farhad, 38, who hails from Bagh district of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is known for openly criticizing both Pakistan's influential establishment and the army. Recently he had reported on protests and violence in Muzaffarabad.
For decades, countless journalists, activists and civil society members in Pakistan and its occupied territories have been vocal against oppression by the ruling establishment. Journalists in particular faced numerous obstacles, including censorship and restrictions on travel within the country.
Ahmed Farhad's abduction and subsequent court appearance is emblematic of the broader challenges facing journalists and activists in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, a region fraught with political tension and human rights concerns.Pakistan's intelligence agencies have been accused of being involved in forced disappearances of people and suppressing dissenting voices in the occupied territories. Such actions are part of a broader strategy to maintain control over the occupied territories and silence the opposition.
"Syed Farhad Ali Shah is hereby declared a missing/disappeared person until he safely reaches his home," a written order from the court hearing on Friday said, Dawn reported.
In the written order, Justice Kayani said that when Farhad reaches his residence, the investigating officer of Lohi Bher police station in Islamabad will proceed to record his statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) before a judicial magistrate. Were obliged. With the results of the investigation".
On the matter of bringing together all such cases of enforced disappearances pending before the IHC and creating a larger bench to hear them, Justice Kayani directed that the cases be presented before IHC Chief Justice Amir Farooq "so that he can give his Can form it by using administrative powers.A bigger bench so that this matter of public interest can be dealt with in a better way,” said the don.
Ahmed Farhad was reportedly abducted from his home on May 15. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded the immediate release of the poet. On the same day, a petition filed by the Pakistani poet's wife requested the court to produce Farhad before the court and take action against the culprits.
Justice Kayani had also framed 12 questions, most of which were about the functions and responsibilities of the spy agencies - Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).After several orders were issued by the Islamabad High Court, Farhad's case came to the fore again on May 29, when the government told the court that the poet would be booked under a case registered on the same day for obstructing the work of a public servant. Was in the custody of Jammu and Kashmir Police. Duty.
Earlier, a special anti-terrorism court in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) had rejected the bail plea of abducted Ahmed Farhad Shah. As per a previous report by Dawn, while dismissing the petition, the court said that the legal points raised by his lawyer are not applicable to the case.
Earlier, poet and journalist Shah had read a poem of resistance against Pakistani oppression at the IHC despite being chained during his transportation. In the footage surfaced on social media, he is shown reciting his own couplet in the court.Shah was reportedly kidnapped and forcibly disappeared by Pakistan's intelligence service ISI.
Ahmed Farhad, 38, who hails from Bagh district of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is known for openly criticizing both Pakistan's influential establishment and the army. Recently he had reported on protests and violence in Muzaffarabad.
For decades, countless journalists, activists and civil society members in Pakistan and its occupied territories have been vocal against oppression by the ruling establishment. Journalists in particular faced numerous obstacles, including censorship and restrictions on travel within the country.
Ahmed Farhad's abduction and subsequent court appearance is emblematic of the broader challenges facing journalists and activists in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, a region fraught with political tension and human rights concerns.Pakistan's intelligence agencies have been accused of being involved in forced disappearances of people and suppressing dissenting voices in the occupied territories. Such actions are part of a broader strategy to maintain control over the occupied territories and silence the opposition.
