Senior National Conference (NC) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir minister Sheikh Mustafa Kamal passed away on Tuesday after a brief illness.
He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Srinagar for past several days.
Confirming his demise, the National Conference said, “Dr. Sheikh Mustafa Kamal Sahib, party’s Additional General Secretary and a former Minister, passed away after a short illness. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un.”
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said his uncle had been unwell for some months but his condition took a turn for the worse 4 days ago.
“My father’s younger brother Dr Mustafa Kamal passed away earlier this evening at Paras hospital in Srinagar. Uncle Mustafa had been unwell for some months but took a turn for the worse 4 days ago.
He put up a brave fight holding on against the odds. The doctors & staff treating him were amazing but Allah called him for his final journey. May Allah grant uncle Mustafa the highest place in Jannat,” Omar said on X.
The younger son of National Conference founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah, Kamal remained one of the party’s senior-most leaders for decades and was known as a gentle man politician.
Trained as a medical doctor, he entered active politics through the National Conference and served as a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council from 1983 to 1987 before representing the Gulmarg Assembly constituency in 1987 and 1996. During his political career, he served as a cabinet minister in successive National Conference governments.
Known for his outspoken views on Jammu and Kashmir’s political issues, Kamal was a key voice within the National Conference, frequently articulating the party’s stand on autonomy, Article 370 and Centre–J&K relations. He had largely stayed away from electoral politics in recent years.
