Islamabad High Court declines government's plea to close Ahmed Farhad's disappearance case

Islamabad [Pakistan], June 1: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday declined a plea raised by Pakistan's central government to shut down the case of forcibly disappeared poet Ahmed Farhad Shah until the victim does not appear before the court personally, The News International reported.

The case filed by Farhad's wife was represented by human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali, and the federal government was represented by Additional Attorney General Munawwar Iqbal.

The plea was filed by the Pakistani government being heard by IHC's Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

During the hearing, Iqbal informed that Farhad was in a physical remand till June 2. He then requested the IHC to wrap up the illegal confinement case, the report by The News International claimed.

Mazari, the counsel representing Farhad's wife, demanded that his family demand that strict action be taken against the people who are responsible for the disappearance of Farhad.

Mazari also added that when Ahmed Farhad Shah's family went to Dhirkot Police Station in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) but could not find his whereabouts, although they were able to find out that he was transferred to Muzaffarabad under sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), according to the same news report.

Responding to this, Justice Kayani rejected the plea from the federal government, straightaway commenting that the case will conclude only when Shah is produced before the court.

The IHC judge further adjourned the hearings regarding the case until June 7.

Urooj Zainab, Farhad's wife who moved to the IHC on May 15, sought her husband's recovery and requested the court to identify, investigate, and prosecute those responsible for his disappearance, the same report claimed.