MM Shuja elected chairman of J&K Peoples Forum

Srinagar, Jul 12: Senior journalist and noted RTI activist M.M. Shuja has been unanimously elected as the Chairman of the J&K Peoples Forum, a prominent civil society organisation working for transparency, accountability, and the protection of democratic rights in the region.

Shuja, who has served as Secretary General of the Forum for the past fourteen years, succeeds the late Syed Nassarullah Shah, the Forum’s founder Chairman. The position had remained vacant for two years following Shah’s passing.

The J&K Peoples Forum has been at the forefront of legal and civic advocacy, having filed twenty-one Public Interest Litigations (PILs) before the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. It has also pursued multiple cases before the State Human Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Commission. One of its PILs is currently pending before the Supreme Court of India.

On the occasion of Shuja’s appointment, the Forum’s managing body paid rich tributes to late founder Syed Nassarullah Shah and other long-standing members, including Mohammad Ramzan Khan and Mohammed ShafiRanraze, acknowledging their lifelong commitment to civil rights and public welfare.

In a joint statement, the executive members congratulated Shuja on his election and expressed full confidence in his leadership. They reaffirmed the Forum’s resolve to continue raising critical public issues through legal, media, and civic platforms.