Aga Ruhullah and Mian Altaf seek release and medical care for ailing Shabir Shah

June 25, 2025 by News Desk

Two Members of Parliament from Jammu Kashmir—Mian Altaf and Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi—have separately called on the central government to ensure urgent medical treatment and consider the release of jailed separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, who is reportedly suffering from multiple serious health conditions, including prostate cancer.

Speaking to the media, Mian Altaf, MP from Anantnag, revealed that he had received letters both from Shah’s family and the ailing leader himself, raising alarms over his deteriorating health. “Given his age and medical condition, there appears to be no justification for his continued detention. If he cannot be shifted to Kashmir, at the very least, he should be allowed to be with his family in Delhi,” Altaf said. He stressed that concerns over Shah’s condition are being regularly raised by people in his constituency.

In a separate intervention, Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, National Conference MP from Srinagar, wrote a detailed letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 25, highlighting Shah’s medical state. Mehdi cited the need for three surgeries and raised allegations of mistreatment during a hospital visit on May 1, where Shah’s family reported harassment by security personnel and being denied access to medical records.

“Despite the gravity of his condition, he remains incarcerated. This raises serious humanitarian and legal concerns,” Mehdi wrote, urging the government to act in line with constitutional and international human rights standards, including the ICCPR and the UN’s Nelson Mandela Rules. He called for Shah’s immediate transfer to a hospital capable of handling cancer treatment and demanded that his family be involved in all medical decisions.

Mehdi also questioned the inconsistency in the government’s approach, noting that other undertrials like Zahoor Watali and Gautam Navlakha were granted house arrest on medical grounds. “Why not Shabir Shah?” he asked.

He concluded his letter with a moral appeal: “The measure of a nation is how it treats its weakest. Let us not fail that test.”