SRINAGAR: Several members of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Wednesday urged the government to seek the transfer of “hundreds of Kashmiri prisoners” lodged in jails across the country back to the Valley and expressed concern over “deteriorating health of separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah”.Outside the Assembly, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq issued a separate appeal urging a humanitarian approach towards Shah and separatist leader Yasin Malik. He called on the MLAs, “especially the ruling party, to unite on this issue and play their role in securing the release and relief of Kashmiri prisoners”.Raising the issue in the House during question hour, CPI-M’s M Y Tarigami said, “It is a matter of deep concern that hundreds of Kashmiri prisoners, both young and old, are lodged in different jails across India. Only yesterday, family members of Shabir Ahmad Shah informed me that his health is deteriorating. There are many others in similar condition.“We appeal to the government to take up this issue with the Centre and insist that if these detainees have to remain in custody, they be shifted to jails within Kashmir,” he said, adding there is no dearth of prisons here. “It is a basic human right.”Peoples Conference member Sajad Lone supported the demand and urged the Speaker to ensure that the concern of the House reaches the centre. “I understand they cannot interfere in certain matters, but expressing concern is neither a crime nor against the law,” he said.“Shabir Shah has spent his entire life in jail. He was a political leader. Imagine if any of us were unable to stand without support, how would our families react? There are many such cases, but this one is particularly serious,” Lone said.Shah is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail. He was arrested by the NIA on June 4, 2019, on charges of terror funding and allegedly indulging in anti-national activities.Lone said while the home dept was under the purview of the central govt, the Assembly must still take cognizance of the deteriorating health conditions of Kashmiri prisoners lodged outside J&K.Meanwhile, outside the House, Mirwaiz said, “Shah Sahib’s wife, in a letter to me, conveyed that their daughter, who visited him in jail, reported that he seems to be dying a silent death due to his fast-deteriorating health and multiple complications with no recourse to urgent care or hospitalisation.”Shah’s daughter met him in jail on Oct 28 and later said he has grown considerably weaker and his haemoglobin has dropped to below 9gm/dl. She said both his feet are swollen, likely due to his persistent and severe prostate issues. He is unable to stand properly, and his hands have begun to tremble, the family said.“The letter urges the authorities to at least shift him home and convert Shah Sahib’s house into a jail so that the family can take care of him and provide him with urgent medical attention, as his health cannot withstand any further delay,” Mirwaiz said.He said Yasin Malik’s mother and sister met him in jail a few days back and conveyed that “prolonged confinement has taken a huge toll on his physical and mental health and that he is also in need of urgent medical care.”“Reports about the worsening health and harsh conditions of other Kashmiri political detainees and youth lodged in various jails within and outside Jammu and Kashmir are equally worrying,” Mirwaiz said.
