Farhad Mazhar yet to open up about his abduction

Doctors tending to poet and columnist Farhad Mazhar have recommended he seek psychiatric therapy as he is displaying signs of mental trauma while recovering at the Birdem Hospital in Dhaka. Shima Das Shimu, a relative of Farhad's, said he was finally sleeping and eating a little after doctors changed his medication. She said he had not been eating before, but on Friday he had some rice for lunch and showed some interest in the news after sleeping for the first time. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Shima said he still seemed traumatised about his abduction, not able to remember what he read in the newspapers minutes after he read them, she added. “He sits silently by himself. When friends and family members come to visit, he touches them to reassure himself that they are really there. He still has not said anything about what happened to him or who abducted him. “He is scared and traumatised,” Shima said. Farhad’s doctor said his vitals were normal, but he needed to speak to a therapist about the trauma he has gone through. Visiting the Birdem Hospital on Friday, the Dhaka Tribune found a heavy presence of law enforcement and intelligence agencies who were checking everyone’s ID before allowing them to visit Farhad. Farhad Mazhar went missing on Monday morning after he got out of his house to buy some medicine. He called his wife Farida Akhter around 9:30am and said he had been abducted and the abductors were demanding Tk35 lakh for his release. RAB later rescued him from a Dhaka-bound Hanif Paribahan bus in Abhaynagar upazila, Jessore the same day at 11:30pm.