Senior Kashmiri Editor Abdul Rashid Shah Passes Away | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Senior journalist and Chief Editor of the Urdu daily Nidai Mashriq, Abdul Rashid Shah, passed away in Srinagar early Saturday after a prolonged battle with pulmonary ailments.

Shah, a prominent figure in Kashmir’s Urdu journalism, had earlier served as an Information Officer in the Jammu and Kashmir Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR). During the early years of militancy in the 1990s, he resigned from government service and devoted himself fully to journalism.

Before launching his own newspaper, Shah was associated with Al-Safa News, which at the time was among the largest circulated newspapers in Kashmir. Following his resignation from government service, he founded Nidai Mashriq, which he edited and managed for several years and remained associated with until declining health limited his professional engagements.

In 1995, Shah was among three journalists abducted from the Press Enclave in Srinagar by members of the pro-government militia Ikhwan led by Kukka Parray. The incident highlighted the risks faced by journalists during the peak of militancy in the Valley.

In 2001, he was part of the media contingent that accompanied then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his official visit to Iran.

His Nimaz-e-Janaza (funeral prayers) will be offered at the premises of Jamia Masjid Bagh-e-Mehtab after Zuhar prayers.

Shah is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter, a senior officer in the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS).