Ahmad Farhad

Ahmad Farhad is a human rights defender, journalist and poet from Azad Jammu and Kashmir who reports on social justice issues, human rights violations and the suppression of peaceful people’s movements for rights and justice. He has faced violent reprisals including an abduction which later turned into an arrest in 2024, criminalisation and stigmatisation by state authorities due to his work. Most recently Ahmad Farhad used his media platform, the Times of Kashmir, to report on the protest movement launched by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) which has faced a disproportionate used of force and repression by state authorities. Thousands of protesters were reportedly arrested under the regressive Section 3, Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, which permits preventive detention with limited recourse to judicial counsel. In addition, internet blackouts and restrictions on movements in the region have prevented independent reporting and information flow on the extent of the violations.