Shabbir Shah has become an icon of resistance: DFP
Srinagar: The Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has praised the steadfastness of its Chairman, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, on the completion of 39 years of his life in jail and nine consecutive years of captivity.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the DFP, in a statement issued in Srinagar today, highlighting the incarcerated party chairman’s indomitable role in the Kashmiris’ ongoing struggle, said, “Shah, who has been forced to spend most of his life in jails and detention centers, has become an icon of resistance.”
It said that in 73 years of his life, Shah has spent 39 years in prisons, detention and interrogation centers within and outside the Kashmir valley because of his political beliefs. The party said that being a strong proponent of the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, Shah has always sought a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in line with UNSC resolutions.
It added that Shah had never accepted India’s forcible control over Kashmir and had never changed that ideology.
The DFP said Shabbir Shah had chosen the path of struggle as his way of life and was steadfastly writing a new history of political resistance. It said it was unfortunate that the DFP chief was being punished for his political beliefs and for his peerless contribution to the ongoing struggle. Voicing serious concern over Shah’s illegal and continued imprisonment, the party said Shah was being punished for his unflinching stance on the issue of Kashmir. “Despite suffering from multiple acute ailments, Shah Sahib stands firm and undeterred on his stance while enduring an unendurable life in prison,” it said.
“We salute his patience, perseverance and determination.” Terming Shah’s illegal detention as sheer vengeance, the party said he was being victimized for his unprecedented role in the Kashmiris’ ongoing struggle for the right to self-determination. The statement urged influential world governments to use their political and diplomatic clout to help stop the persecution of Kashmiri political prisoners.
