August 3, 2026
By Hashir Ahsan
An Anti-terrorism Court in Islamabad has sent President of the Pakistan Rights Movement, Mushtaq Ahmed, along with his worker Daniyal Abdullah, to police custody for a three-day physical remand. Both were arrested for protesting in support of Kashmiris, while Mushtaq Ahmed told the court that he was tortured by the police.
Mushtaq Ahmed was brought before the ATC after police filed for his physical remand. Duty judge Rukhsana Shaheen heard the case. During the hearing, the prosecution told the court that Mushtaq Ahmed was working together with the banned Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and spread false propaganda against national security institutions.
The police asked for 30 days physical remand to recover the vehicle and weapons used by the accused and to arrest the other accused men.
In the courtroom, Mushtaq said that he had been tortured to which a police official replied that he was making this statement only to gain fame in the media, and that neither of them had been subjected to any torture. The court then said that media was not allowed to enter the courtroom. Following this the court approved a three day physical remand for the police and ordered that Mushtaq Ahmed and the others be presented again on August 3.
Case was filed after protest
The case against Mushtaq Ahmed and opposition alliance spokesperson, Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai, was registered by the police on July 31, at the Shalimar police station over a protest, held at the F-10 Markaz to show solidarity with Kashmiris. The FIR claims that 400 to 500 people took part in the protest, that they blocked the road and stopped traffic, and that they refused to disperse despite police warnings. It also claims they attacked and damaged a media DSNG vehicle, resisted police, damaged government vehicles, and threw stones which injured some police officers. The case includes charges under terrorism laws and the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, along with other sections.
After the hearing, the Pakistan Rights Movement also released a message attributed to Mushtaq Ahmed. In the message Mushtaq said that Netanyahu calls people going to Palestine ‘terrorists’, and today the Shehbaz Sharif government was also calling people supporting Kashmir ‘terrorists’.
He said their caravan for Kashmir was a purely humanitarian mission, carrying milk, biscuits and sweets for children, along with water, food and medicine for the affected Kashmiris. He said stopping such a humanitarian convoy was simply cruel and against humanity. He said banning humanitarian work for Kashmir and arresting relief workers shows that the rulers are only trying to please the Modi government. He said he had stood with the Kashmiris before, stands with them now, and would always stand with them in the future too. He said the rulers had practically turned Islamabad into a no-go area for Kashmiris, and that stopping and detaining Kashmiris in Islamabad and Rawalpindi based on their ID cards was a clear violation of basic civil rights and freedom of movement.
He asked the rulers to tell the nation whether carrying milk, food, water and medicines was ‘terrorism’.
“No, this is not terrorism, it is pure humanitarian help,” he said. “Real terrorism was firing bullets at unarmed Kashmiris and shedding their blood.”
Mushtaq appealed to the people of Pakistan to raise a peaceful and democratic voice against the government policies that are increasing the hardships of the Kashmiri people. He said jails, terrorism cases and torture could not shake his resolve, and that in the end victory would belong to the Kashmiri people, while human rights and democratic values would stand tall, and rule based on cruelty and dictatorship would fail. He especially appealed to the youth especially students to play their part in a constitutional, legal and peaceful struggle against cruelty, injustice and violation of human rights.
