KASHMIRI SEPARATIST LEADER ALTAF AHMAH SHAH DIES OF CANCER AT DELHI, AIIMS

Altaf Ahmad Shah, a leader of the Kashmiri separatist movement, passed away from cancer in the early hours of Tuesday at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in this city after being transferred there from Tihar Jail by the Delhi High Court's orders.

"We were informed about Abu's passing away late last night," his daughter Ruwa Shah told the news agency.

Shah’s lungs, according to his daughter, were not functioning since October 2. “For two days, the RML (Ram Manohar Lohia) hospital is only providing vital support and nothing else. Delay in treatment is causing irreversible harm,” she had said.

Altaf Ahmad Shah, a resident of Srinagar's Soura neighbourhood, was detained on July 25, 2017, along with six other people, and is now being tried in connection with an alleged NIA investigation into funding for terrorism.

Shah was detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as part of a significant crackdown on prominent separatist leaders in a case involving terror funding. Shah was detained in Delhi's Tihar Jail along with six other important separatist leaders.

Shah's release was also urged for medical reasons by Mehbooba Mufti, the president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the leader of the Hurriyat.