Shabir Shah completes 31 years of incarceration

Srinagar, Apr 29: Chief of Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) Shabir Shah “has become icon of the ongoing freedom struggle for fearlessly advocating ‘Right to Self Determination’ of the people of the Kashmir.”
This was stated by the participants of an event organized to mark the completion of 31 years of incarceration (from time to time) of Shabir Shah. The event was presided over by JKDFP Secretary General Moulana Mohammad Abdullah Tari, the spokesman said.
The spokesman in a statement quoted the participants said that the ideology of freedom which was adopted by Shabir Shah in his youthful days is being honestly followed by him till date when he is 64. The result is that imperialistic powers always find an excuse to put him behind bars. The man, who has chosen the path of struggle as his way of living, is steadfastly writing a new history of political resistance. “Presently, when Shabir Shah has completed 31 years of incarceration, he is undergoing in solitary confinement in a small cell of Tihar jail Delhi with an open commode in it,” the spokesman said.
“The office-bearers, members and activists of JKDFP and a large number of his admirers across the religious and regional lines reiterate to take the political ideology of Shabir Shah forward and will leave no stone unturned in the completion of his mission of’ freedom,” the spokesman added.
“We fully support the political stance of our incarcerated leader that Kashmir is a political and humanitarian dispute which must be resolved taking into consideration its political and historical aspects and the will of its people. This is the only way out to end the ongoing bloodshed in the disputed region and confrontation between the two nuclear neighbours of the region,” said a spokesman.
“We are not frightened or terrified of the illegal and illogical imprisonment of our leader but in fact are concerned about his ailing health. The frontline leader of the freedom struggle is suffering from many serious ailments in the jail. We repeatedly cautioned the authorities in Delhi and their local agents to provide suitable medical facilities to our leader whose life is otherwise in danger due to the ailments.The irony is that despite repeated directions from the judiciary as well, the jail authorities did not provide him with the necessary medical facilities which Shabir Shah needs urgently,” the spokesman added.
The spokesman said that the seriousness of his ailments can be understood by the fact that Shabir Shah is not able to remain standing for more than five minutes. A team of doctors recently conducted a test of Shabir Shah which was related to neurology. The test and monitoring was conducted for 14 hours inside the jail. His Holter and other heart-related tests with negative results were also repeated recently. Taking into consideration the falling health of Shabir Shah and concern shown by the people of all walks of life, JKDFP has decided to issue health bulletins about Shabir Shah twice in a month.
“On this occasion, JKDFP salutes all those incarcerated leaders along with Shabir Shah, activists and common people who are languishing in different jails since long only for their political stance about Kashmir dispute. Since none of the allegations against them including Shabir Shah has been proved so far, so we call their continuous ‘incarceration’ as a political vendetta,” the spokesman said.