The Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday granted post-arrest bail to poet Ahmed Farhad Shah in connection with cases relating to inciting violence and blacking roads, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The AJK High Court granted bail to Ahmed Farhad against a surety bond of Rs200,000 after poet’s lawyer KD Khan presented his arguments.

Ahmed Farhad came into the spotlight after he went missing during recent protests in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Ahmed Farhad could be released from the judicial lock-up today after the release of the high court’s order.

On May 15, Farhad’s wife had filed a petition in IHC, requesting that he be found and produced before the court and to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for his disappearance.

On May 29, the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that missing poet Farhad had been arrested and was in AJK police custody. The AGP had submitted Dhirkot police station report in the court of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani.

On June 10, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared the arrest of poet Ahmed Farhad as unlawful. The high court in a written decision had concluded that abducted Farhad had been subjected to forced disappearance and institutions failed to recover him.

Last week, an anti-terrorism court had rejected the bail application of Farhad.

Reporter Safeer Raza