Urgent Action: JOURNALIST AND POET ABDUCTED IN PAKISTAN (Pakistan 46.24)

On May 15, 2024, Ahmad Farhad, a Kashmiri journalist and poet, was forcibly disappeared from his home in the capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad, and his whereabouts remain unknown. The police initially refused to file a First Information Report (FIR), and one was subsequently filed on the orders of the Islamabad High Court. Information regarding Ahmad’s whereabouts must be made known, and he must be released immediately. The authorities must ensure an effective, prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial investigation is conducted into the circumstances of Ahmad’s enforced disappearance.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: July 15, 2024

take action:

• Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
• Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 46.24. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

contact information:

sample letter:

Dear Minister Mohsin Naqvi / Your Excellency,

I am writing to express my concerns regarding the enforced disappearance of Pakistani journalist and poet, Ahmad Farhad, from his home in Islamabad at 1am on May 15, 2024 by four men in plain clothes. CCTV footage from cameras installed at his home was also taken. His wife approached the police at 4am in the morning to file a First Information Report (FIR), but they refused to do so. An FIR was subsequently filed on the orders of the Islamabad High Court, but the state authorities have failed to disclose Ahmad’s whereabouts despite multiple court hearings.

Ahmed has been a vocal critic of the Pakistani authorities and has received multiple threats regarding his social media activity in the past. I am deeply concerned for Ahmad’s safety as his abduction follows the pattern of forcibly disappearing journalists and human rights defenders in Pakistan. He suffers from a severe form of stomach gastritis and requires regular medication.

Therefore, I urge you to ensure his immediate return and to initiate an effective, prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the fate and whereabouts of Ahmed Farhad. Finally, I urge you to ensure that anyone suspected of criminal responsibility for their involvement in Ahmad’s enforced disappearance is tried before civilian courts through principles of fair trial without recourse to the death penalty.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

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