ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s request to conclude Ahmed Farhad’s recuperation case prior to the poet’s in-person participation at the hearing was denied by the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Human rights attorneys Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali represented Urooj Zainab, the widow of missing poet Farhad; Additional Attorney General Munawwar Iqbal attended the court on behalf of the federation. The petition was heard by IHC’s Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.
Iqbal informed the court at the beginning of the session that Farhad was on physical remand until June 2 and that he was permitted to see his family. Then he requested to the IHC to conclude the matter of illegal imprisonment.
Mazari, Farhad’s attorney, contended that they were looking for more than just the Kashmiri poet’s return—they were also looking for those accountable for the “enforced disappearance.”
Farhad’s family visited the DhirKot Police Station in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), she said, but they were unable to locate him. The family was informed that Farhad had been moved to Muzaffarabad in accordance with several provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) after they inquired about his whereabouts.
Following hearing both sides’ arguments, Justice Kayani dismissed the additional attorney general’s request. The jurist said that the day Farhad is brought before the court would mark the end of the case.
The hearing was later postponed by the court until June 7.
The poet has been “arrested and currently in police custody” in AJK, according to information provided to the high court on Wednesday by Mansoor Usman Awan, the Attorney General for Pakistan.
Farhad’s wife Zainab filed an IHC on May 15, asking the court to find, look into, and bring charges against those who went missing with her husband.
