SRINAGAR: Days after PDP president Mehbooba Mufti expressed concern over the deteriorating health of incarcerated separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, more political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir, including Sajad Lone, Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, and Altaf Bukhari, have urged the Union government to ensure he receives timely and adequate medical treatment.
Mehbooba had appealed to the Union Home Ministry to intervene after reports surfaced that Shah, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, is suffering from prostate cancer and requires urgent surgery. She also criticised the reported denial of permission for his family to be with him during treatment, calling it deeply distressing. “His family deserves to be by his side,” she said, requesting the Home Secretary to consider the matter on humanitarian grounds.
Shabir Shah sahib is very very ill. He is suffering from life threatening ailments which need medical intervention and in all probability surgery.
The best way would be to involve his family. He would want to be near his loved ones when he is wheeled in for surgery. He is more…
— Sajad Lone (@sajadlone) June 20, 2025
Joining the appeal, People’s Conference chairman Sajad Lone said Shah is “very, very ill” and requires urgent medical attention. “I may not agree with his political ideology, but he has always believed in non-violence. He is dear to me,” Lone posted on social media. He urged the Lieutenant Governor’s office to consider home custody, saying Shah should be near his loved ones during this critical time.
“It is my humble handfolded request to @OfficeOfLGJandK to ideally facilitate a home custody until his medical issues are sorted out. The least we can do is to have his family around him.”
CPI(M) leader Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami also backed the call for medical attention and urged the central government to act urgently in view of Shah’s health condition.
“In view of Shabir Shah’s deteriorating health, advanced age, and multiple ailments, he should be granted bail so his family can ensure proper care before and after surgery. If bail is not possible immediately, placing him under house arrest may be considered on humanitarian grounds. I appeal to Hon’ble Home Minister Shri @AmitShah to intervene for a humane resolution, as similar medical cases have seen bail granted in the past,” he said.
Apni Party president Altaf Bukhari became the latest to call for intervention. In a post on X, Bukhari said ideological differences should not obstruct basic human rights. “Media reports suggest that he is suffering from prostate cancer and requires immediate surgery. I request the Union government to ensure Mr. Shah receives timely and proper medical attention without delay.”
Ideological differences must never come in the way of basic human rights. The incarcerated separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah should be provided with the best possible medical care for his ailment, in a manner that satisfies both him and his family.
Media reports suggest that he…— Altaf Bukhari (@SMAltafBukhari) June 21, 2025
He added that, considering Shah’s age and multiple health conditions, he should be granted bail to allow his family to provide necessary care in a stable environment. Pending that, Bukhari suggested that house arrest could be considered on humanitarian grounds.
“Earnestly requesting Hon’ble Home Minister Shri Amit Shah to kindly consider intervening—within his capacity—for a humane resolution, given the serious health concerns involved,” Bukhari wrote.
Shah has been in detention for several years and is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Political leaders have stressed that his health condition requires urgent attention and that past precedents exist where bail has been granted in similar medical cases.
