Islamabad, Pakistan – A missing poet. A desperate family. A powerful security apparatus. And a court trying to decode conflicting claims to deliver justice. These are the ingredients of a case that caught Pakistan’s attention this week.
Hours after the disappearance of Ahmad Farhad, who is also a journalist, on the night of May 14, his family filed a petition with the Islamabad High Court (IHC), alleging that he had “disappeared” from outside his home in the capital, Islamabad, by the country’s powerful spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for its criticism of authorities.
The Pakistani government has said that Farhad is not in ISI custody. But on Tuesday, the court demanded that security forces produce Farhad within four days, warning that otherwise he could summon senior government officials for questioning.
So who is Farhad, how did he disappear, why is the court intervening and what did he say – and what does Farhad’s family say?
Who is Ahmad Farhad?
Previously associated with several media outlets including Bol News, Farhad has recently worked as a freelance journalist and has frequently covered the recent anti-government protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The 38-year-old, originally from Bagh district in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, is also known for his strong criticism of the country’s powerful establishment, a euphemism for Pakistan’s army.
Syeda Urooj Zainab, his wife, told Al Jazeera that her husband said he was under pressure from government agencies for several months due to his alleged support for former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who is currently in prison on several charges which he denies. Pakistan’s government and military accuse Khan’s supporters of orchestrating a violent attack on state institutions in May 2023, after the former prime minister was arrested.
Zainab said her husband’s ultimate loyalty was to human rights, not to any party. “My husband has always defended human rights, regardless of any affiliation. He used to protest in support of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) when it was under pressure from the system and refused to change its principles,” she added.
The PMLN is the party of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, himself a three-time former Prime Minister. The PMLN, when it was in opposition and the PTI was in power between 2018 and 2022, accused the military of repressing it – just as the PTI under Khan has accused the security forces of doing since 2022. The military has denied the accusations. of the PTI, and previously rejected the PMLN’s accusations.
When did Farhad disappear and what was the reason?
Zainab says her husband of six years was returning home from dinner on Tuesday night when four men grabbed him outside their gate and dragged him into a car.
“It was already past midnight on [May 15]when four men, wearing dark-colored clothing, pushed him into a large four-wheel drive vehicle as they all fled,” she said, adding that three other vehicles were also part of the group.
According to Zainab, her husband told her about possible risks to her life due to her political comments and reporting on issues in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
“He told me that his instincts told him that his life could be at risk because of the comments about what is happening in his hometown. But he made it clear that the establishment has been after him for a long time,” she said.
She added that two days after the alleged kidnapping, she was contacted by Farhad via WhatsApp asking her to withdraw her court petition in exchange for her recovery.
“I could tell he was being coerced into sending the message. He asked me to withdraw my petition and he would return home. He also said he is absent for private reasons, but it was clearly a forced statement,” she said.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), the country’s preeminent human rights body, condemned Farhad’s disappearance and demanded his urgent release.
Poet Ahmed Farhad must be released immediately by authorities. The HRCP demands that such abductions and detentions of people considered political dissidents end immediately. There can be no compromise on artistic freedoms and freedom of expression.
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) May 15, 2024
What has the court said so far?
The court, in its hearing on Monday, ordered the police to promptly find the missing poet, warning that otherwise it could summon the Defense Secretary to appear before it.
In its written order issued on Monday, the court also directed the police to “investigate the allegations with reference to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials by recording the statement of the officials”. Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, the IHC judge hearing the case, said the government needed to change people’s perception about state institutions that are accused of kidnapping people.
But a Defense Ministry official on Monday informed the court that Farhad is not being held by the ISI. Additional Solicitor General Munawar Iqbal, representing the government, told the court on Monday that Farhad was not being held captive by the intelligence agency and assured the judge that he would be found soon.
The judge had said, in a previous hearing, that if state authorities were unable to recover the missing poet, the court would summon the prime minister.
The country has a troubled history of enforced disappearances, with Pakistan’s military and its intelligence agencies accused of orchestrating abductions of critics and politicians.
But Zainab, Farhad’s wife, told Al Jazeera that she was optimistic about her husband’s return following the court’s intervention.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
