Mehmood Saghar concerned over deteriorating health condition of Altaf Ahmed Shah

ISLAMABAD, Oct 04 (SABAH): Convener All Parties Hurriyat Conference Mehmood Ahmed Saghar has expressed his grave grave concern over the deteriorating health condition of incarcerated All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Altaf Ahmed Shah, who has been languishing in New Delhi’s Tihar jail for the past several years.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, Mehmood Ahmed Saghar said that Shah who was arrested by NIA authorities in a false case five years back was subjugated to the worst treatment in the prison that has led to deterioration of his health. Terming it as a deliberate attempt to play with the life of the jailed leader, he said, Shah was being victimized and punished for his political beliefs.

He lamented that the jail authorities failed to provide timely medical care to Altaf Ahmed Shah, who has been suffering from acute ailments. Shah, he said, was diagnosed with renal cancer and as a result of the Indian authorities’ willful negligence, his condition worsened. Saghar said that despite repeated requests by his family, the authorities at the helm of affairs took no action whatsoever to provide medical care to Altaf Shah.

Terming medical care as a fundamental right of a prisoner, Saghar said that it was quite unfortunate that the Indian authorities have been depriving Kashmiri prisoners of their right to medical treatment.

Urging international human rights organizations to play their role to seek early release of Altaf Ahmed Shah, Saghar said that the Indian government should release the illegally detained leader immediately on humanitarian grounds so that his family could be able to consult doctors of their choice and look after him properly.