Pakistan summons Indian Charge d’ Affaires over separatist Hurriyat leader’s death

Islamabad, October 11

Pakistan on Tuesday summoned the Indian Charge d’ Affaires and lodged its strong protest over the alleged custodial death of separatist Hurriyat leader Altaf Ahmad Shah, the son-in-law of late pro-Pakistan Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

Shah, popularly known as ‘Altaf Fantoosh’, died of cancer at the AIIMS in New Delhi on Tuesday, a few days after he was taken to the hospital on the orders of the Delhi High Court. He was 66 and is survived by his wife, son and two daughters.

The separatist leader was arrested in 2017 with six others in a terror funding case and was lodged at the Tihar jail.

In a statement, the Foreign Office alleged that the government of India “not only failed to provide satisfactory medical care to Shah who was suffering from renal cancer but also created inordinate delays in his hospitalisation and essential diagnostic tests”.

“It is evident that Altaf Ahmed Shah was victimised and punished because he was the son-in-law of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani and a true representative of the Kashmiri people,” it claimed.

It demanded that the Indian government immediately investigate his death and hold to account all those responsible for it.