Shabir Shah’s bail application to be heard, argued on Feb 23 | KNO

Kashmir News Observer (KNO)

Srinagar, February 07 (KNO) : The bail application of Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) incarcerated chief, Shabir Shah is scheduled to be heard and argued on February 23, a spokesman said on Thursday. According to a statement issued to KNO, the spokesman said the application has been moved in a Delhi court on behalf of the senior resistance leader who is undergoing detention in Tihar jail, from July 2017 after he was arrested by ED in a fabricated and old case. Meanwhile, another hearing of Shabir Shah’s case at Patiala house court was held yesterday and the court fixed 2nd April as another date without any arguments. “The only reason given was that no witness was present in the court. It is pertinent to mention that there are around 24 witnesses in the case against Shabir Shah and only five have been produced by the prosecution so far,” he said. “Why these witnesses are not produced before the court and when they will be produced? nobody argues about it in the court. Ironically Shabir Shah’s wife Dr Bilquies Shah and Nephew Arshad Shah are also among the witnesses who are also yet to be asked to produce themselves before the court,” the statement added. He said throughout the process, the judges do not utter a single word about the case and they just fix fresh dates for the hearings hence prolonging the imprisonment of Shabir Shah unnecessarily. The spokesperson strongly condemned the attitude of the authorities in New Delhi saying the political leadership of India and even the government institutions are hell bent to keep Shabir Shah behind bars so as to break his political will and punish him for advocating the right to self determination of the people of Jammu Kashmir. “Shabir Shah, who has spent 32 years of his life in different jails, is a man of principles and cannot be made to change his political stance about Kashmir. It is better for India not to waste time anymore and accept the historical facts of the Kashmir dispute,” he added.(KNO)