Ahmed Farhad Shah, an imprisoned Kashmiri poet, was escorted to a health facility in Muzaffarabad on Saturday for a medical examination. This followed a plea from his counsel during a bail hearing at the district’s anti-terrorism court.
The bail petition, initially filed by lawyer Syed Zulqarnain Naqvi on Thursday, was scheduled for arguments on Saturday after a previous adjournment requested by the police for the appointment of a special prosecutor. The government appointed Additional Advocate General Chaudhry Manzoor as the special prosecutor. In response, Shah’s legal team was bolstered with hardliner Karam Dad Khan, also known as K D Khan, Fazal Mahmud Baig, and other local lawyers.
In court, Khan argued that the allegations in FIR number 205/24, registered at Saddar police station, did not apply to Shah, as he was neither named in it nor physically present in Muzaffarabad at the time. Khan emphasized that Shah was in Islamabad during the incident, with no internet service in Azad Kashmir, making it impossible for him to instigate any unlawful acts.
Khan further claimed that Shah was kidnapped by security agencies from his Islamabad residence on May 15, wrongfully detained until May 29, and then re-arrested near Gujjar Kohala police post based on a forged FIR. He alleged that Shah was transferred to Muzaffarabad that evening and connected to multiple charges under another FIR.
Khan insisted that no offense was committed by Shah, accusing the security agencies of obstructing Islamabad High Court proceedings, which required top intelligence officials to explain their operations following a writ petition by Shah’s spouse. Khan argued that any alleged offense should have been recorded in Islamabad, where Shah was between May 10 and 15.
The prosecution requested time to present their arguments, which the court granted, scheduling the next hearing for Monday at 11:30 am.
Khan also highlighted Shah’s deteriorating health, requesting his medical examination by doctors from Abbas Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) instead of the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), where he had been checked the previous evening.
Witnesses reported that Shah was taken to AIMS around 4 pm, with tests conducted until 6:30 pm. Khan and Baig, who arrived at the hospital at 6 pm, alleged that Shah was only examined by a junior doctor following his spouse’s vocal complaints. Lawyer Baig stated that despite Shah’s critical condition, doctors did not hospitalize him, allegedly due to external pressures.
Shah was accompanied by DSP Syed Ishtiaq Gillani, SHO Manzar Chughtai of Saddar police station, and SHO Liaquat Hameed of Kahori police station, where Shah is reportedly detained.