Ahmad Farhad, a Kashmiri poet and journalist, has been detained since June without formal charges under administrative detention laws, and is currently on hunger strike to protest what activists describe as unlawful imprisonment.
Ahmad Farhad, a Kashmiri poet and journalist, remains in administrative detention in Bagh, Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir, where he has been held since June 20. According to reports, Farhad was detained under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, a law that permits authorities to hold individuals without standard criminal charges.
Farhad's detention is part of what observers characterize as a broader crackdown on freedom of assembly in the region. Activists have raised concerns that authorities are employing coercive measures against the detainee, including alleged pressure to record statements critical of ongoing protests in the area. In response to his continued imprisonment, Farhad has launched a hunger strike.
Civil rights organizations have called for his immediate release, arguing that his detention violates his right to freedom of expression and constitutes arbitrary imprisonment. The case highlights ongoing tensions surrounding civil liberties in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, where administrative detention provisions have been used to hold individuals for extended periods without formal charges. International pressure for his release is expected to continue through February 2027.
