ISLAMABAD: On Friday, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the Loi Bhir police station’s investigating officer to record the Kashmiri poet Ahmed Farhad’s statement before a judicial magistrate in accordance with Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
After learning the poet’s whereabouts and that the police in Azad Jammu and Kashmir had confirmed his captivity, the judge dismissed the plea for the poet’s recovery.
Hearing a request from Urooj Zainab, the poet’s wife, Justice Kayani instructed the petitioner to return to court if necessary.
The judge declared, “I know how to get my orders implemented.”
In addition to asking the court to locate, look into, and bring charges against those accountable for her husband’s disappearance, Zainab had filed a petition with the IHC to ensure his recovery.
After the poet went missing for fifteen days, Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan said on May 29 that Farhad had been detained and was in the custody of AJK police in accordance to the IHC’s directives to ensure his recovery.
The poet was detained and taken from DhirKot to Muzaffarabad under several provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). The poet, who is renowned for his rebellious writing, gained attention for his cause when he was reported missing during demonstrations in AJK in May.
Iman Mazari, an attorney specializing in human rights, represented the petitioner in court, with journalist Hamid Mir serving as a judicial assistant.
