DFP decries repeated transfer of Shabbir Shah to Delhi
Party seeks UN, rights bodies' intervention to save ailing Hurriyat leader
Srinagar : The Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) has strongly condemned the repeated transfer of senior APHC leader and its Chairman, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, from Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to New Delhi, expressing serious concern over the health and wellbeing of the elderly Kashmiri political prisoner.
According to Kashmir Media Service, DFP spokesperson Advocate Arshad Iqbal said Shah, 74, is suffering from multiple ailments and has been advised by doctors to avoid long-distance travel. He said despite his fragile health, Shah was being repeatedly moved between Jammu and Delhi, which could seriously endanger his health.
Shah was shifted from Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu to New Delhi on September 29 following a notice issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The development came as he was expected to be released in an old case, but was directed to appear before an NIA court in Delhi.
Advocate Iqbal said that courts had granted Shah bail in several cases registered against him, but he continued to face successive legal proceedings and detention in other cases. He said this had created what appeared to be an endless cycle of incarceration and transfers.
The DFP spokesperson said repeatedly subjecting a 74-year-old ailing man, who has spent decades in Indian prisons, to arduous journeys despite medical advice was contrary to basic principles of humanity, human rights and accepted standards for the treatment of prisoners.
He demanded that Shah’s age and medical condition be taken into account and that unnecessary transfers be stopped immediately. He also called for proper access to medical treatment, family members and legal counsel for the detained leader.
Advocate Iqbal appealed to international human rights organisations and relevant United Nations bodies to take cognisance of Shah’s prolonged imprisonment, deteriorating health and repeated transfers. He urged them to play their role in ensuring protection of his fundamental human and legal rights.
The DFP has previously urged international organisations to intervene over the detention of Kashmiri political prisoners, saying many remain incarcerated in jails far from their homes and families.
The party said the continued detention and repeated transfer of its chairman highlight wider concerns over the treatment of Kashmiri political prisoners and called for humanitarian considerations, due process and prisoners’ basic rights to be respected.
