Treat Shabir Shah without delay, J&K leaders appeal to Home Minister

CPI(M) leader M.Y. Tarigami and J&K Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari on Saturday (June 21, 2025) sought the intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure treatment for ailing separatist leader Shabir Shah in the Tihar Jail and consider his bail plea.  

Shabir Shah was arrested by the National Investigation Agency in 2017 in a terror financing case and has been in jail since. Reports say the separatist leader, now 72, is suffering from prostate cancer and requires immediate surgery.

“In view of his deteriorating health, and considering his advanced age and multiple comorbidities, it is imperative that he be granted bail so that his family can provide the necessary pre- and post-operative care in a stable and supportive environment,” Mr. Tarigami said.

‘Urgent care needed’

The CPI(M) leader said that pending bail, placing him under house arrest may be considered on humanitarian grounds to ensure he receives adequate care. “Earnestly requesting Home Minister Amit Shah to kindly consider intervening given the serious health concerns involved. There are enough precedents of bail being granted in similar medical situations,” Mr. Tarigami said.

“Ideological differences should not obstruct the basic rights of any individual. Shabir Shah should be provided with the best possible medical care, in a manner that satisfies both him and his family,” Mr. Tarigami said.

J&K Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari also requested the Union Home Minister and the Centre to ensure that he receives proper medical attention without delay.

Earlier, Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq urged the Centre to consider Shabir’s bail plea and ensure his treatment in jail.

Shabir headed the separatist organisation, the Democratic Freedom Party, which was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2023. In the past, he was among the key separatist figures who engaged in backchannel dialogue with the Centre.

The Delhi High Court on June 12 rejected his bail plea, saying he was “involved in a number of criminal cases, all of which relate to the conspiring for the secession of Jammu and Kashmir from India”.