Poet Ahmed Farhad's bail plea rejected

Muzaffarabad: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday rejected the bail petition of Kashmiri poet Ahmed Farhad, who initially had gone missing and later his arrest was made public by the Azad Kashmir police.  

The court earlier reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from both sides and ordered a medical examination of the poet amid concerns of slow poisoning.

The poet's wife Urooj Zainab told the media that details of rejection of the bail were not disclosed and that she would challenge the decision.

Farhad, known for his defiant prose, came into the spotlight after he went missing during recent protests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

His wife, Urooj Zainab, said her husband was allegedly abducted from his house on May 14. Subsequently, she moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking her husband's recovery along with requesting the court to identify, investigate, and prosecute those responsible for his disappearance.

The poet remained missing for 15 days before Attorney General for Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, on May 29, in response to IHC's directions to recover the missing poet, said Farhad was arrested and in AJK police's custody.

Following the development, the poet's family met him at the Kahori police station situated outside Muzaffarabad.

Last week, the IHC turned down the federal government’s plea to wrap up the poet's recovery case till he personally appeared in the hearing.

The ATC will resume the hearing on June 7.