Where is Ahmad Farhad? The mysterious case of Pakistan’s missing poet

Farhad has been missing for a week. His family blames Pakistan’s spy agency. The government denies it is holding him. Now a court wants him found this week.

Islamabad, Pakistan — A missing poet. A desperate family. A powerful security apparatus. And a court trying to decode conflicting claims in order to dispense justice. Those are the ingredients of a case that has grabbed Pakistan’s attention this week.

Hours after Ahmad Farhad, who is also a journalist, went missing on the night of May 14, his family petitioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC), alleging that he had been “disappeared” from outside his home in the capital, Islamabad, by the country’s powerful spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for his criticism of authorities.

Pakistan’s government has said that Farhad is not in the custody of the ISI. But on Tuesday, the court demanded that security forces produce Farhad within four days, warning that it might otherwise summon senior government officials for a grilling.

So who is Farhad, how did he go missing, why is the court intervening and what has it said – and what is Farhad’s family saying?

Previously associated with various media outlets, including Bol News, Farhad was recently working as a freelance journalist and frequently reported on the recent antigovernment protests in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The 38-year-old, who is originally from the Bagh district of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, is also known for his strong criticism of the country’s powerful establishment, a euphemism for Pakistan’s army.

Syeda Urooj Zainab, his wife, told Al Jazeera that her husband had said he was under pressure from government agencies for several months due to his perceived support for the Pakistan