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The Pakistani government has admitted before the Islamabad High Court that Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) is a foreign territory and that Pakistan has no jurisdiction over it. The rare admission came on Friday (May 31) from Pakistan’s Additional Attorney General in the kidnapping case of Kashmiri poet and journalist Ahmed Farhad Shah.

The Islamabad court was hearing the case of Ahmed Farhad Shah, who was kidnapped from his home in Rawalpindi by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies on May 15.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court wanted Farhad Shah to be produced in court, following a petition by the poet’s wife.

On Friday, Pakistan’s Additional Attorney General argued before Justice Kayani that Farhad Shah was in police custody in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and he couldn’t be produced before the Islamabad High Court, reports Pakistan Today.

The Additional Attorney General said Kashmir is a foreign territory with its own constitution and its own courts, and judgements of Pakistani courts in POK appear as judgements of foreign courts, according to the Pakistan Today report.

Justice Kayani countered that if POK was a foreign territory, then how did the Pakistani military and Pakistani Rangers enter the land, according to an AIR report.

During the hearing, Kayani criticised Pakistan’s intelligence agencies for continuing the practice of forced abductions of people.

It came to light during the court argument that Ahmed Farhad Shah was being detained by Dhirkot police. There are two cases against him in POK.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by Farhad Shah’s wife regarding his kidnapping from his residence by Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.

The Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, under the occupation of Pakistan since 1947, is an integral part of India, which the Indian Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar recently reiterated.

“It (POK) has always been with India, and it will always be India,” said Jaishankar.

Poet and journalist Ahmed Farhad Shah is also an activist for the rights of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and its people. He is known for his strong criticism of the establishment (army), which calls the shots in the Islamic Republic. He led and participated in several anti-government protests in POK in the past.