Altaf Shah incarcerated Kashmiri separatist leader dies in Delhi hospital

Incarcerated senior separatist leader Altaf Ahmad Shah, 66, considered an advocate of dialogue in Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s Hurriyat, died at the All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS), Delhi, on Monday night, according to the family members.

“Abu breathed his last at AIIMS, New Delhi. As a prisoner,” Mr. Altaf Shah’s daughter Ruwa Shah said, in a tweet.

The AIIMS has not disclosed the cause of death so far.

Mr. Altaf Shah was the son-in-law of late Hurriyat chairman Geelani, who died in 2021 while he was under house arrest. Mr. Shah was considered a close aide of Geelani. In the past, Mr. Shah was vociferous within the Hurriyat, advocating dialogue and engagement with stakeholders on the Kashmir issue.

Late on Tuesday evening, the body of Mr. Altaf Shah arrived in Srinagar. Mobile internet was snapped in parts of the Srinagar city as a precautionary measure. Officials said only close relatives would be allowed to participate in the last rites of Mr. Altaf Shah, who lived in Srinagar’s Soura area.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Indian Charged Affaires in Islamabad.

“The government of India not only failed to provide satisfactory medical care to Mr. Shah who was suffering from renal cancer but also created inordinate delays in his hospitalisation and essential diagnostic tests,” a Pakistani MEA spokesman said.

Pakistan alleged that Mr. Altaf Shah was “victimised and punished because he was the son-in-law of revered Hurriyat leader Geelani and a true representative of the Kashmiri people”.

“His death is the consequence of the Indian government’s wilful and deliberate negligence, utter disregard for human rights and its systematic campaign to suppress and brutalise the Hurriyat leaders,” the Pakistani MEA said.

Pakistan also conveyed grave apprehensions regarding the treatment meted out to Hurriyat leaders, including Muhammad Yasin Malik, Masarat Aalam Bhat, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Aasiya Andrabi.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr. Altaf Shah’s daughter said she have been waiting calmly at AIIMS mortuary. “Nobody from police or Magistrate (Sana Khan – who was asked to be here for the body to be released) is here yet. The delay will worsen the situation. Have to be at airport three hours prior to last flight at 18.30,” Ms. Shah said, in a tweet.

‘Political prisoner’
A Hurriyat spokesman described Mr. Altaf Shah as a “political prisoner” and added that “Despite repeated pleadings from his family, our party and his lawyers for his release, he was kept in jail. His health worsened, terminal illness metastasised, despite calls for medical attention, he died in custody.”

Mr. Altaf Shah’s daughter on October 1 wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought his intervention in releasing her father, “who has been diagnosed with acute renal cancer” “It has spread to the other body parts, including his bone,” she had said.

The Hurriyat leader’s lungs, according to his daughter, were not functioning from October 2. “For two days, the RML [Ram Manohar Lohia ] hospital is only providing vital support and nothing else. Delay in treatment is causing harm that is irreversible,” she had said.

Mr. Altaf Shah was shifted to the AIIMS after the Delhi High court on October 5 issued an order for “appropriate treatment”.

He was arrested during a major crackdown launched on top separatist leaders by the National Investigation Agency in 2017 in a case related to terror funding. Mr. Altaf Shah and six other senior separatist leaders were lodged in the Tihar Jail in Delhi.

Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti had also demanded Mr. Altaf Shah’s release on health grounds.

On May 5, 2021, another incarcerated Tehreek-e-Hurriyat chairman Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, 77, died in custody in Jammu.