ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday declared Kashmiri poet Ahmad Farhad a victim of enforced disappearances and directed authorities to refer to him as a “missing person” till he safely reaches home.
Farhad, who is known for social media posts critical of Pakistan’s powerful army, went missing from his Islamabad residence on May 14, prompting his wife to accuse Pakistan’s top spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of abducting him and filing a petition in the IHC for his recovery.
The army has not commented on the development, but it has repeatedly said in the past it does not suppress critical voices. Before his abduction, Farhad had criticized the Pakistani military in social media posts regarding unprecedented protests held in Azad and Jammu Kashmir (AJK) in May.
Farhad resurfaced on May 29 in the custody of AJK police following multiple IHC orders. He was booked in case of obstructing a public servant’s duties. On June 1, his medical check-up was conducted in a Muzaffarabad health facility, while the IHC also disposed of on June 7 the plea to recover him.
“Syed Farhad Ali Shah is an enforced disappearance missing person until he reaches his home safely,” IHC judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani stated in a court order on Monday, highlighting that state institutions had failed to recover the poet “arrested illegally.”
The court order urged authorities to produce Farhad before a judicial magistrate to record his statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after he returns and “proceed with the investigation as a result.” According to section 164 of the CrPC, any judicial magistrate can record a confessional statement regardless of jurisdiction.
It directed the heads of ISI, Military Intelligence (MI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) to attend the criminal justice committee’s next hearing and relay their requests and recommendations.
Justice Kayani urged IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to exercise his administrative powers to constitute a larger bench for all the missing person cases. The court order also restrained investigation agency heads from speaking to the media following in-camera briefings relating to national security matters.
“All such cases that pertain to national security affairs be fixed for in-camera hearing and if it is an important matter, a larger bench may hear them after being briefed by heads of top investigative institutions,” the court order read. “Directives shall be issued to not report such cases in the media.”
Justice Kayani observed Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar needed to ensure the poet’s safe return home.
Farhad’s case has once more put a spotlight on enforced disappearances in Pakistan in which families say people picked up by security forces often disappear for years and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani security agencies deny involvement in such disappearances.
A complaint filed by the police at the Dhirkot police station in Azad Kashmir and seen by Arab News said Farhad was arrested by police as he tried to leave for his ancestral village in Kashmir from Islamabad. The complaint said police stopped Farhad’s car at 07:00 a.m. near Kohala Bridge in Azad Kashmir to ask for identification, following which he misbehaved with police officers and abused them.
Farhad was subsequently arrested for interfering in the government’s affairs under section 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code, the complaint said. The provision in the law deals with intentionally hampering, misleading, jeopardizing or defeating an investigation, inquiry or prosecution.
Rights organizations have frequently accused Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies of illegally detaining and torturing dissenters without any explanation or following due process of law. The military and intelligence agencies deny involvement in such acts.
Pakistan court declares Kashmir poet ‘missing’ till safe return home
https://arab.news/rkkzu
Pakistan court declares Kashmir poet ‘missing’ till safe return home
- Ahmed Shah Farhad disappeared from his Islamabad residence on May 14 only to resurface in custody of Azad Kashmir police weeks later
- Islamabad High Court judge observes attorney general and Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar needed to ensure the poet’s safe return home
On Qatar’s National Day, Pakistan hails Doha as global ‘emissary of peace’
- PM says Pakistan stood with Qatar after Israeli airstrike, notes Doha backed Islamabad during May conflict with India
- Doha has recently facilitated de-escalation talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan after border clashes this year
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday praised Qatar as one of the region’s most active diplomatic mediators, calling Doha an “emissary of peace” during an address at a ceremony to mark Qatar’s National Day in Islamabad.
Sharif’s remarks come after Qatar led negotiations aimed at easing the Gaza conflict, working with nations like the United States to reach a ceasefire and secure humanitarian pauses and prisoner exchanges. Doha also facilitated de-escalation talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan after border clashes earlier this year, underscoring its growing role as a crisis mediator across the region.
Pakistan has also aligned closely with Qatar in recent months. Sharif visited Doha in a show of solidarity after Israel’s airstrikes on the country in September, while Qatar publicly supported Pakistan during a brief military conflict with India in May, which Islamabad has highlighted as evidence of a deepening two-way partnership.
“Pakistan deeply appreciates Qatar’s distinguished and long-standing role as the emissary of peace, a nation that has repeatedly opened doors for dialogue, helped defuse tensions, and encouraged reconciliation with the noble aim of fostering peace and stability in the region and beyond,” Sharif said during his National Day address.
He described Qatar as a “brotherly country of Pakistan” with “very strong fraternal and friendly relations,” noting that bilateral engagement spans energy security, defense cooperation, trade and investment. More than 150,000 Pakistanis live and work in Qatar, contributing to its economy and remitting income back home, while Qatari investments in Pakistan’s real estate, infrastructure and renewable energy sectors have expanded.
Sharif said he had traveled to Doha twice this year, first to convey Pakistan’s solidarity after the Israeli airstrike on Doha on September 9, 2025, and again for the Arab-Islamic Summit, and stressed that Islamabad stands “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Doha in pursuit of regional stability.
