In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has said that by facing the continued illegal detention with resolve, its Chairman, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, is scripting a new history of resistance against India’s illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.
The DFP in a statement issued in Srinagar saluted the Shabbir Ahmad Shah’s resolve to lead the ongoing freedom movement, despite facing political victimization of the Indian government. It said in his 67 years of his life, Shabbir Shah has to spend 36 years in prisons, detention and interrogation centers within and outside the Kashmir Valley because of his political beliefs. “Shabbir Shah has become icon of the ongoing movement by completing 36 years in prison from time to time and five consecutive years of captivity in the notorious Tihar jail,” it said.
The statement maintained that being a strong advocate of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, Shabbir Shah has always sought a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in line with UN Security Council resolutions. It said he never accepted India’s illegal hold on Kashmir and he never changed that ideology.
The DFP said Shabbir Shah has chosen the path of struggle as his way of living and he is steadfastly writing a new history of political resistance. It said, despite suffering from multiple acute ailments, Shabbir Shah stands firm and undeterred on his stance while enduring the unendurable in the prison. It deplored that the jail authorities were not providing the DFP chief the necessary medical facilities which he needs urgently. The DFP said his health condition has deteriorated in the prison during the past five years. It urged the world human rights bodies to take cognizance of the matter and play their due role to ensure safety and early release of Shabbir Shah and other Kashmiri prisoners languishing in different jails of IIOJK and India.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement issued in Islamabad, the DFP Acting Chairman Mehmood Ahmed Saghar said that Shabbir Shah was being victimized for his unprecedented role in the Kashmiris’ ongoing struggle for right to self-determination.
While lauding Shabbir Shah’s political will and steadfastness, Mahmood Ahmad Saghar said the mean tactics meant to linger on his detention won’t help India to break his political will. He urged the international human rights organizations to take notice of the continued detention of Shabbir Shah and force the Indian government to stop persecution of the Kashmir political prisoners on the basis of their political beliefs.—KMS
