An anti-terrorism court on Monday reserved it’s verdict on post arrest bail request of poet Ahmed Farhad in a case of creating unrest in Pakistan administered Kashmir through social media.
At the hearing, the prosecution represented by Assistant Advocate General (AAG) provided detailed arguments against granting the bail.
The Assistant Advocate General argued that poet Ahmed Farhad attempted to incite unrest through social media. According to him, Ahmed Farhad initiated the trend of “We will take freedom from Pakistan” and incited people to engage in violent activities.
Farhad’s counsel, Karam Dad Khan, questioned the prosecution’s arguments while stating that Ahmed Farhad’s name was not mentioned in the FIR and during that time internet services were also shut down in Azad Kashmir, making it impossible for his poetry to incite people.
Khan maintained that the reality is that a petition regarding Ahmed Farhad’s disappearance is under hearing in Islamabad High Court, which has ordered that Farhad be presented in court. To avoid this, his arrest was shown here. “Ahmed Farhad is neither mentioned in the FIR nor implicated in any FIR and the prosecution has no evidence against him. Therefore, Farhad should be granted bail,” he argued.
After completing the arguments, the court reserved the decision which will be announced tomorrow, Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court issued a written order on Monday regarding the last hearing of Ahmed Farhad’s recovery case held on Friday.
The order stated that counsel for the petitioner, Imaan Zainab Mazari informed the court that Ahmed Farhad has not yet returned home and was being held in physical remand in a case registered at Police Station Saddar, Muzaffarabad. Imaan reported that Ahmed Farhad’s family has been allowed to meet him and due to medical reasons his health was not well.
The order stated that according to the Additional Attorney General and Prosecutor General, Ahmed Farhad was on physical remand until June 2, making this recovery request ineffective. However, the petition also sought the identification and action against those who abducted Ahmed Farhad, which the legal officer argued was now ineffective following his recovery. The order, however, noted that this court does not agree with the legal officer’s stance until Ahmed Farhad appears before the Islamabad High Court.