Islamabad, August 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
International human rights organisation Amnesty International has urged Pakistani authorities to immediately release Kashmir poet and journalist Ahmad Farhad and stop using coercive measures that restrict his right to freedom of expression.
In a statement, Amnesty said Farhad had been held under administrative detention in Bagh, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), since June 20. It described his detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance as arbitrary and linked it to what it termed a wider crackdown on peaceful assembly in the region.
Amnesty also alleged that Pakistani authorities had been pressuring Farhad to record statements condemning protests taking place in PoK.
“He is currently on a hunger strike to protest his unlawful detention. Amnesty calls on the Pakistani authorities to immediately release Ahmed and refrain from coercive tactics which curtail his right to freedom of expression,” the organisation said.
The statement comes after Ireland-based rights organisation Front Line Defenders last month also called for Farhad’s immediate release and withdrawal of charges against him. The organisation alleged that he was being targeted for his legitimate journalism and human rights work in PoK.
Front Line Defenders said the repression in PoK reflected a broader pattern targeting people who criticise the authorities and seek accountability for alleged human rights violations. It said journalists such as Farhad were particularly vulnerable because of their independent reporting and efforts to challenge state-sponsored misinformation.
According to the organisation, police detained Farhad in Bagh city on June 20 while he was returning home after covering an ongoing Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) protest in Rawalakot. It said he had subsequently been held at Bagh city police station without legal grounds or a formal arrest warrant.
Front Line Defenders said Farhad reports on social justice, human rights violations and the suppression of peaceful rights movements in PoK. It also alleged that he had faced violent reprisals, including an abduction that later turned into an arrest in 2024, along with criminalisation and stigmatisation by state authorities.
The organisation said Farhad had used his media platform to cover the JAAC protest movement, which it alleged had faced disproportionate force and repression.
It further claimed that thousands of protesters had been arrested under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, which allows preventive detention with limited scope for judicial review.
FOLLOW NOW
