Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): In an intriguing development, deceased Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's granddaughter Ruwa Shah and incarcerated separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah's elder daughter Sama Shabir have pledged their loyalty to the sovereignty of the Union of India.
The development is seen as a major blow to separatism in the valley. On Thursday, March 21, identical public notices published in regional dailies in Kashmir declared that Ruwa and Sama are "loyal citizens of India."
Public notice by Ruwa Shah declaring loyalty to India "I am a loyal citizen of India not affiliated with any organization or association that has an agenda against the Union of India, and I owe allegiance to the Constitution of my country," stated Ruwa Shah, daughter of Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmad Shah, in the public notice. Pertinently, Ruwa's father was also in jail for alleged terror funding and passed away last year after a prolonged illness.
Public notice by Sama Shabir declaring loyalty to India In a similar public notice, Shabir Shah's 24-year-old daughter Sama said: "I am a loyal citizen of India and I am not affiliated with any person or organization that is against the sovereignty of the Union of India."
Ruwa Shah with father Altaf Shah "I am not associated with the DFP or its ideology in any way," Sama said while warning that legal action would be taken against anyone linking her to the separatist group without authorization. Her father Shabir Shah was arrested in 2017 by the Enforcement Directorate over alleged money laundering activities linked to terror financing. He was later charged by the National Investigation Agency also for alleged terror financing.
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