Srinagar: Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Sajad Gani Lone and Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami on Wednesday raised concern in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over the condition of jailed separatist leader Shabir Shah, saying that while his ideology may differ, his health and well-being should be a matter of concern for everyone.
Speaking in the House, Lone said that Shabir Shah has spent most of his life in jail and is currently unable to take care of himself. “He is not a militant, he is a political leader. His ideology is different, but he can’t even get up or take care of himself,” Lone said.
As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), he questioned the silence of the Assembly on the issue, asking, “Then what about this Assembly? We talk about Kashmiri nationalism, but when one of our own is suffering, we remain silent.”
Lone urged the government to take up the matter through appropriate channels and convey the concern to the Union Home Ministry. “We are not asking to interfere, but expressing concern cannot be a crime,” he said.
The MLA said that Shabir Shah has spent decades behind bars and is currently lodged outside Jammu and Kashmir. “He can’t even perform his daily activities now,” Lone told the House.
He said that the Assembly should not remain quiet and must find a way to communicate humanitarian concerns regarding prisoners like Shabir Shah to the central government.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) legislator M.Y. Tarigami also urged the government to consider transferring Kashmiri prisoners lodged in jails outside Jammu and Kashmir back to the Valley.
Speaking in the Assembly, Tarigami said he had received a call from the family of separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, expressing concern over his deteriorating health.
“The family of Shabir Ahmad Shah contacted me and requested that the issue be raised in this House,” Tarigami said, adding that such humanitarian matters deserved attention from the government.
He appealed to the administration to look into the condition of prisoners held outside the region and to take appropriate steps for their relocation to local jails—(KNO)
