Hard-line J&K separatist leader Geelani admitted to Tata Memorial Hospital

After facing delay in getting a visa to travel to the US for treatment, ailing hard-line Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was admitted to Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel, following deterioration in his health, sources at the hospital confirmed.

Geelani, his wife and son had applied in the US Embassy for a visa, for taking him there for specialised treatment and were in the city for the same. He was admitted to the hospital in a serious condition, and is currently under observation, sources at the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital revealed. Geelani, who is suffering from kidney cancer, developed some complications in his only kidney, and needed treatment on an urgent basis. His other kidney was removed in 2003 in Mumbai.

The United States had informed on March 14 that it would take at least a month to grant visa to him, his wife and son. Geelani’s passport was impounded by the authorities in 1981and since then his applications for issuing a fresh passport or travel documents were denied. However, he was allowed to perform the Haj pilgrimage last year along with his wife.

Former Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan had offered to treat Geelani in the Showkat Khanam Memorial Cancer hospital, Lahore, while another hospital in Belgium, Saint Luc Hospital had also offered to treat the Hurriyat Chairman.