Within hours after Sama Shah- the daughter of jailed separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, renounced anti-India ideology, Ruwa Altaf, granddaughter of deceased hardcore radical leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani reaffirmed her allegiance with the sovereignty of the Union of India.
Like Sama Shah, Ruwa Altaf also issued a notice in local newspapers of Kashmir, rejecting separatist ideologies and affirming their allegiance to the sovereignty of the Union of India.
"I, Ruwa Altaf, daughter of Altaf Ahmad Shah, wife of Moonis-ul-Islam Mattoo, granddaughter of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, R/O Haji Bagh Mam Road Bachpora, do hereby solemnly declare that I, don't have any connection or affiliation with Hurriyat Conference (G) run by grandfather Syed Ali Shah Geelani. I do not have any inclination or sympathy towards the ideology of the organization. Any use of my name for this organization shall be liable to legal action from my side. I am a loyal citizen of India, not affiliated with any organization or association which have an agenda against the Union of India and I owe allegiance to the Constitution of my country (India) the notice issued by Ruwa Altaf reads.
Ruwa's separatist father passed in October 2022
Altaf Ahmad Shah, the separatist leader, who was lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.
Altaf Ahmad Shah was the son-in-law of late Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
It was Ruwa Shah who confirmed the death through a tweet. "Abu (father) breathed his last at AIIMS, New Delhi.
Shah was arrested by the NIA in 2018, along with several other separatist leaders, in an alleged terror funding case and was lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail.
A resident of Soura in Srinagar, Shah was the son-in-law of late Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and was one of his close associates. He was also associated with the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, founded by Geelani in 2004.
Suma's brother was terminated from a government job in 2021
In October 2021, Ruwa's brother Anees-ul-Islam was sacked as a research officer from a government-owned convention centre in Jammu and Kashmir.
During the investigation, it was found that Syed Ali Shah Geelani had bartered violence for the government job of his grandson.
Anees-Ul-Islam was appointed research officer at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre or SKICC under the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department in 2016 during the PDP-BJP regime headed by Mehbooba Mufti.
During the investigation, it was also revealed that there was pressure from the top level of the government to appoint Anees, and the whole recruitment process was manipulated.
Earlier Shabir Shah's daughter rejects separatism
On Thursday, 23-year-old Sama Shah, daughter of Shabir Shah asserted her status as a loyal Indian citizen and disassociated herself from her father's banned separatist organization, the Democratic Freedom Party. Sama clarified her stance and warned of legal action against anyone associating her name with the party.
This move by family members of prominent separatist figures marks a significant departure from the norm in Jammu and Kashmir.
