Incarcerated Kashmiri leader Altaf Shah embraces martyrdom

NEW DELHI: Kashmiri leader Altaf Shah, who had been jailed by Indian authorities for the past five years, has passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Taking to Twitter, the Kashmiri leader’s daughter, Ruwa Shah, said: “Abu (father) breathed his last at AIIMS, New Delhi. As a prisoner.”

Abu breathed his last at AIIMS, New Delhi. As a prisoner. https://t.co/EqxGyappW0

— Ruwa Shah (@ShahRuwa) October 10, 2022

Along with six other leaders, Altaf Shah was arrested in a “terror-funding case” in 2017. He was the son-in-law of the deceased Hurriyat chairman, Syed Ali Geelani, who passed away at his residence in Srinagar last year.

Read More: Veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani passes away

Last month, Ruwa Shah tweeted that he had been diagnosed with renal cancer, which had spread to his vital organs, including his bones.    She had appealed to the Indian authorities to allow her family to visit Altaf and grant him bail on health grounds.

“It is my whole family’s request to please allow us to see him and consider his bail application on health grounds,” Ruwa wrote. She also wrote that he had been shifted from New Delhi’s Tihar Jail, where he was incarcerated, to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, which didn’t have an oncology department.

After six days of her fervent appeals, including a letter to Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, and an order by the Delhi High Court on October 3, Shah was shifted to the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment.

‘PM Shehbaz Sharif grieved’

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep grief over the death of Kashmiri leader Altaf Shah in Indian captivity.

Deeply grieved at passing of prominent Kashmiri leader Altaf Shah, son-in-law of Syed Ali Geelani, while in Indian captivity. Modi regime denied him treatment despite knowing he was cancer patient. Custodial killings are norm in Modi’s India. My condolences to the bereaved family

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) October 11, 2022

On his Twitter handle, the prime minister posted: “Deeply grieved at passing of prominent Kashmiri leader Altaf Shah, son-in-law of Syed Ali Geelani, while in Indian captivity.”

Modi regime denied him treatment despite knowing he was a cancer patient, the prime minister further said. “Custodial killings are norm in Modi’s India. My condolences to the bereaved family,” the prime minister said in a tweet.