Islamabad, July 20, 2023 (PPI-OT): Convener of All Parties Hurriyat Conference AJK chapter and acting chairman of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) Mehmood Ahmed Saghar has praised steadfastness of party chairman Shabbir Ahmed Shah on the completion of 36 years of his life in jail and seven consecutive years of captivity in New Delhi’s Tihar jail. In a statement issued in Islamabad, today, Saghar, while highlighting the incarcerated party chairman’s indomitable role in the Kashmiris’ ongoing struggle, said, “Shah, who was forced to spend most of his life in jails and detention centers has become an icon of resistance”. He said that in 70 years of his life Shah spent 36 years in prisons, detention and interrogation centers within and outside the Kashmir valley because of his political beliefs.

Saghar said that being a strong proponent of Kashmiris’ right to self-determination, Shah has always sought a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in line with UNSC resolutions. He said that Shah had never accepted India’s forcible control on Kashmir and he never changed that ideology. The APHC convener said that Shabbir Shah had chosen the path of struggle as his way of living and he was steadfastly writing a new history of political resistance. He said that it was unfortunate that the DFP chief was being punished for his political beliefs and because of his peerless contribution in the ongoing struggle.

Voicing his serious concern over Shah’s illegal and continued imprisonment, he said that Shah was being punished for his unflinching stance on the issue of Kashmir. “Despite suffering from multiple acute ailments, Shah Sahib stands firm and undeterred on his stance while enduring an unendurable life in prison”. “We salute his patience, perseverance and determination”, he said. Saghar lamented that the jail authorities were not providing him with the necessary medical facilities which Shah Need’s urgently.He said the health condition of Shah had deteriorated in the prison during the past six years.

Urging world human rights bodies to take effective notice of the matter, he said that human rights defenders should play their due role to ensure the safety and early release of Shah and other Kashmiri prisoners languishing in different jails. While terming Shah’s illegal detention as sheer vengeance, he said that Shah was being victimized for his unprecedented role in the Kashmiris’ ongoing struggle for the right to self-determination.

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