Separatist's health failing, Kashmir leaders urge Centre for compassion
Several political leaders from Kashmir on Friday expressed concern over the deteriorating health of separatist leader Shabir Shah, currently incarcerated in Tihar jail.
Former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti called for compassion from the Centre, saying: 'Shabir Shah, incarcerated in Tihar jail for a considerable period, is reportedly suffering from prostate cancer and is in urgent need of surgery. Deeply unfortunate that the courts have barred his family from being present during his treatment.'
She also urged Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan to intervene on 'humanitarian grounds' and ensure that Shah's family be allowed to be by his side.
Shah was arrested in an alleged terror funding case in June 2019. However, he has spent considerable time in jail over the last 30 years, and his latest bail plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court on June 12.
In his Friday sermon at Srinagar's Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also highlighted Shah's medical condition and made an appeal to the Centre not to make 'the process the punishment' for 'Kashmiri political prisoners'. 'Yesterday, I spoke to his wife, who told me that the family's bail plea citing his serious medical condition, too, has been rejected, and that she does not know how to help him,' he said.
People's Conference president Sajad Lone also urged compassion in Shah's case, saying that he is suffering from life-threatening ailments that need medical intervention.
'The best way would be to involve his family. He would want to be near his loved ones when he is wheeled in for surgery. He is more than 75 years of age,' Lone said.
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