Case Update Status

The case was disposed off- justice Kayani instructed that on Farhad’s return and he was released.

Summary of Case

"Kashmiri journalist and poet Ahmed Farhad Shah was ""picked up"" from his residence on May 15, 2024. According to Dawn, Farhad's wife had filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court, requesting that he be found and produced before the court and to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for his disappearance. According to an order from the IHC proceedings, as per Farhad's wife's petition, the poet was abducted at May 15 at 01:00 A.M. from her house i.e. Flat No.4, Khursheed Plaza, Block-A, Soan Garden, Islamabad. The abductors had also allegedly taken the CCTV footage and cameras installed at the residence. During a hearing on May 29, the court was informed by the Attorney General for Pakistan along with officials of police department as well as other law enforcement agencies that Farhad was in police custody under FIR No.58/24 dated 29.05.2024 under section 186 APC, . police station Dhir Kot, Azad Kashmir On May 31, the court was informed that Farhad had not yet reached home as he had been arrested in another criminal case FIR No.205, dated 13.05.2024, U/S 120B/147/148/149/186/324/341/353/427/436 /109 APC read with Section 7-ATA, PS Saddar Muzaffarabad and is on physical remand. She (Farhad's wife) also told the court that his family visited him in another Police Station on the intervention of some senior police official of AJK Police and Farhad was not in good health condition due to multiple medical reasons. Dawn: IHC 's Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani on May 16 summoned a report from the defence secretary on the alleged role of state intelligence agencies in the abduction of Farhad. Farhad’s wife was represented in court today by Advocates Imaan Zainab Mazari and Hadi Ali Chatha while SSP Zafar, Assistant Attorney General Usman Rasool Ghuman and other officials were also present. Dawn: Justice Kayani had also fra­med 12 questions, mostly related to the functions and obligations of spy agencies — the Inter-Serv­ices Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelli­gence (MI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB). After multiple IHC orders, Farhad resurfaced on May 29, when the government informed the court that the poet was in the custody of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police under the case registered the same day of obstructing public servant’s duties. On June 1, Farhad was brought to a health facility in Muzaffarabad for his medical check-up hours after his counsel had requested the same before an anti-terrorism court (ATC). Last week, an AJK ATC rejected the poet’s bail plea, holding that the legal points advanced by his counsel did not apply to the case in hand. On June 7, the IHC had disposed of the petition seeking Farhad’s recovery, with the remarks that apparently it was causing hardship to the incarcerated poet.

Category of Incident

Forced Disappearance; Arrest

ICCS Status

ICCS Divisions: 0202- Acts against liberty

ICCS Group: 02022- Deprivation of liberty

ICCS Class: 020222 - Illegal restraint

ICCS Crime: Illegal Restraint

Reported By

Dawn

Date of incident

15

Month

May

Year

2024

Name of affected person

Ahmed Farhad Shah

Other affected persons

No

Name of affected organization

Freelancer

Other affected organizations

No

Action by

Police

City

Islamabad

Province

Capital

Designation

Journalist/Freelancer/Poet

Professional category

Journalists

Age of victim

N/K

Marital Status

Compensation Details

Amount of compensation announced by government: No compensation was announced

Date of compensation announcement by government: No compensation was announced

Date of compensation paid by government: No compensation was announced

Amount of compensation announced by others: No compensation was announced

Date of compensation announced by others: No compensation was announced

Date compensation paid by others: No compensation was announced

FIR Details

Was FIR registered ?: Yes

Date of FIR:

FIR Details: The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed against Shah at the Dhirkot police station at around 8am, with the time of the incident just an hour earlier. The FIR was registered under section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of Kohala checkpost in-charge Shaukat on the state’s behalf. According to the FIR, at around 7am today, a “carry van”, with registration number 4368-RIF, was coming from Kohala chowk when it was stopped at the checkpost. Upon asking the driver for his identity card, a “passenger in the van misbehaved and used harsh language” against checkpost officials, and refused to comply with the checking protocol. The passenger was then asked to come out of the vehicle and upon inquiring about his details, he stated his name as Ahmed Farhad Shah, the complaint added. It further quoted Shah as saying that he was heading to his ancestral village in Azad Kashmir from Rawalpindi. The FIR then stated that he had attempted to interfere with officials’ duties. On May 31, the court was informed that Farhad had not yet reached home as he had been arrested in another criminal case FIR No.205, dated 13.05.2024, U/S120B/147/148/149/186/324/341/353/427/436 /109 APC, read with Section 7-ATA, PS Saddar Muzaffarabad and is on physical remand.

Police station of FIR: Dhir Kot, Azad Kashmir, PS Saddar Muzaffarabad

Name of complainant:

Name of accused in FIR: Ahmed Farhad Shah

Court Details

Was case investigated ?: Yes

Court where case was presented: Islamabad High Court

Name of prosecuting lawyer: -

Date of first court hearing:

Date of last court hearing: 07/06/2024

Status of court case: Disposed off

Journalist Union Status

PFUJ

Not condemned

APNS

Not condemned

CPNE

Not condemned

PBA

Not condemned

Media Source Status

Media reports:

Condemn Status

Colleague of victim

N/A

Employer organization

N/A

Press Club Status

Press club 1: No version was required

Press club 2: No version was required

Press club 3: No version was required