The Islamabad High Court (IHC) firmly stated that it would not leave unanswered the queries regarding the involvement of spy agencies in cases of enforced disappearances, despite the apparent “recovery” of missing poet Ahmed Farhad. It rejected the government’s plea to dismiss the petition demanding Farhad’s recovery until he appeared in court.
Initially, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was informed by the petitioner’s counsel that Farhad hadn’t returned home; instead, he had been arrested in another case registered at Saddar Police Station, Muzaffarabad. Farhad’s family located him at another police station with the help of a senior AJK Police official.
However, Additional Attorney General Barrister Munawar Iqbal Duggal argued that since Farhad was in police custody and on physical remand until June 2, the writ petition was no longer relevant. Justice Kayani disagreed, stating that the court needed to wait until Farhad was produced after completing the process in AJK.
Despite arguments from the petitioner’s counsel that Farhad had also applied for post-arrest bail, Justice Kayani emphasized that he had raised specific questions regarding enforced disappearances and spy agencies’ legal framework, which needed answers.
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar suggested seeking answers to the questions in another case, but Justice Kayani disagreed. He issued an order on May 24, directing intelligence agencies to clarify their role in police investigations and be accountable to the court.
Justice Kayani believed that enforced disappearance cases were tarnishing intelligence agencies’ reputation and demanded a report from Islamabad’s police chief about cases against unknown persons where allegations against any agency were recorded. He also summoned the law minister, law secretary, and sector commanders of ISI, MI, and IB to understand their code of conduct, actions against officials involved in illegal activities, and procedures for self-accountability within intelligence agencies.
