Islamabad, Aug. 25 -- Amnesty International South Asia has called for the immediate and unconditional release of journalist and poet Ahmad Farhad, who has reportedly been held in administrative detention for more than two months under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. Farhad has been detained since June 20 in Bagh, in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

According to Amnesty International, Farhad is currently on a hunger strike to protest what it described as his unlawful detention. His health reportedly deteriorated significantly, prompting authorities to shift him to a hospital on August 22.

The rights organisation said Farhad is among several journalists and human rights defenders facing alleged targeting for raising concern...