Shabir Ahmad Shah

After distancing himself from moderate Hurriyat camp headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, it seems senior separatist leader, Shabir Shah is on prowl. After floating his faction of Hurriyat Conference (JK), Shah recently termed it as a political platform of resistance people. And in the same breath, appealed all resistance leaders to join it for taking the ‘freedom’ movement to its logical conclusion.

A native of Kadipora, in South Kashmir’s Islamabad and a son of a Block Development Officer, Shah said: “Hurriyat Conference (JK) represents the aspirations of the people of Jammu Kashmir,” Shah said, addressing a public meeting in Rafiabad. “I appeal all pro-freedom leadership to strengthen it and play their role in taking the freedom movement to its logical end.”

Shah, who began his political career in 1968 at the age of 14, was arrested and jailed for 3 months and 15 days in Srinagar’s Central Jail as a teenager. Immediately after his release, he resumed his political activities by forming Young Men’s League along with his colleagues for which he was arrested at Islamabad and was detained for 8 months in Srinagar’s Central Jail, again.

Significantly, it is the second time (decadal split) after 2003 when Hurriyat Conference has split. Then Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani floated his own faction after he accused Sajad Gani Lone of People’s Conference of fielding proxy candidates in the assembly elections.

Shah was arrested on August 29, 1989 and was released on October 14, 1994. Since then he has been in and out of various jails and has been put under house arrest most of the time.

His political movements have also been restricted to very much extent since then until he was detained under PSA on August 20, 2008 after taking part in “Muzaffarabad Chalo” march during the Amarnath land agitation.

After his detention grounds were quashed by the High Court, the government again slapped PSA against him on December 8, 2008, which was later revoked by the Court. He was released on May 22, 2009 but was re-arrested on June 8 with a fresh PSA slapped against him.

Having spent much of his life in Indian jails, Shabir Ahmad Shah gained international coverage as an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience. He is also known as ‘Nelson Mandela of Kashmir’ and sometimes called as ‘Jail Bird’. Shah has spent almost 29 years, mostly the prime of his youth, in prisons and frequent house arrests.

But critics claim he is more popular overseas, in particular in the USA, than he is in Kashmir.

– Bilal Handoo

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