Bail Hearing Delay of Shabir Shah Draws Strong Protest from DFP

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has expressed deep anguish over the deferment of the bail hearing of its president, Shabir Ahmed Shah, by an Indian court, terming the move an old tactic aimed at prolonging his detention.
In a statement issued in Srinagar on Monday, DFP spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal said Indian courts have a longstanding pattern of employing adjournments, deferments, and procedural delays in cases involving Kashmiri detainees, thereby postponing final adjudication.
He stated that instead of delivering a decision on the long-pending bail plea, the court granted additional time to investigators who, according to the party, have yet to present substantive evidence against Shah. The hearing, originally scheduled for the second week of the month, has now been postponed until February 25.
Criticizing the Indian judiciary, the spokesman alleged that such decisions appear politically motivated rather than grounded in justice. He added that Shah has faced unproven allegations since 1968 and, despite spending eight years in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, no court has conclusively established charges against him.
The DFP maintained that Shah and other Hurriyat leaders are being targeted for advocating a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute and for raising the concerns of the Kashmiri people. The party also called upon international human rights organizations to take urgent notice of the situation and play a meaningful role in securing the early release of Shah and other ailing detainees held in Indian prisons.