Kin of two separatist leaders, late Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and banned Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chairman Shabir Shah, have issued public notices through a local daily in Kashmir “disassociating” themselves from the separatist outfits.
In two separate notices published in a local daily, Greater Kashmir, Shabir Shah’s daughter Sama Shabir, and Geelani’s granddaughter Ruwa Shah, stated that “they have no inclination towards separatist ideology”.
“I have no inclination or sympathy towards Hurriyat Conference ideology. I am a loyal citizen of India not affiliated with any organisation or association which has an agenda against the Union of India, and I owe allegiance to the Constitution of my country (India),” Ms. Shah said.
Ms. Shah’s father, Altaf Ahmad Shah, alias Altaf Fantoosh, 66, died in custody in November 2022. He was arrested during a major crackdown on top separatist leaders by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2017 in a case related to terror funding. Altaf Ahmad Shah, along with six other senior separatist leaders, had been lodged in the Tihar Jail in Delhi.
In a separate public notice, Ms. Shabir said she was “a loyal citizen of India”. “I am not affiliated with any person or organisation that is against the sovereignty of the Union of India. I am not associated with the DFP or its ideology in any way,” she said.
Shabir Shah was also arrested by the NIA in 2017 in an alleged terror financing case. His separatist party, DFP, was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs in October 2023.
