Mirwaiz raises alarm over deteriorating health of Shabbir Shah, Yasin Malik
Calls for urgent medical care for jailed leaders
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating health of senior pro-freedom leaders Shabbir Ahmad Shah and Mohammad Yasin Malik, who are currently lodged in New Delhi’s notorious Tihar Jail.
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According to Kashmir Media Service, in a statement in Srinagar, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that the families of both prominent leaders, who recently visited them in jail, have reported alarming conditions regarding their health.
He shared that Shabbir Shah’s wife, in a letter to him, stated that their daughter, during a recent visit to her father in jail, reported that Shah appears to be “dying a silent death” due to his deteriorating health and multiple complications. Shah’s family has urgently appealed for his release on humanitarian grounds or, at the very least, for him to be placed under house arrest so that he can receive immediate medical attention, with their home being converted into a detention center for his care.
In his appeal to the Indian government, Mirwaiz urged authorities to show compassion and either release Shabbir Shah or allow him to serve his detention at home, as per his family’s request.
Similarly, Yasin Malik’s mother and sister, who visited him in jail recently, conveyed that prolonged confinement has severely affected his physical and mental health. Mirwaiz has called on the authorities to urgently provide medical assistance to Yasin Malik, whose condition is worsening due to lack of proper care.
Mirwaiz further expressed his deep distress over the suffering of these and other Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders. Reports about the worsening health and harsh conditions of other Kashmiri political detainees and youth in various jails within and outside Jammu and Kashmir are equally worrying,” Mirwaiz said. “This is a matter of human concern and compassion that transcends political considerations and ideologies.”
He strongly urged Indian authorities and the judiciary to provide all detainees suffering from health complications with the necessary medical care, ensuring that their fundamental rights as prisoners are upheld.
The Mirwaiz also called upon the elected representatives of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, particularly the ruling party, to unite and take action to secure the release and relief of Kashmiri prisoners languishing under draconian laws.
