Srinagar, July 14: Jammu and Kashmir’s political landscape lost one of its most recognizable and outspoken voices on Tuesday with the passing of senior National Conference (NC) leader and former minister Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, who breathed his last at Paras Hospital in Srinagar after a prolonged illness. He was 84.
Dr Kamal, the younger brother of National Conference president and former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, had been battling health complications for several months. According to party sources, his condition deteriorated sharply four days ago despite intensive medical treatment. His death marks the end of a political journey spanning more than five decades, during which he remained one of the National Conference’s most influential ideologues, strategists and public faces.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, paying an emotional tribute to his uncle, announced the demise through a heartfelt message on social media.
“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 four days ago. He put up a brave fight holding on against the odds. The doctors and staff treating him were amazing but Allah called him for his final journey. May Allah grant Uncle Mustafa the highest place in Jannat,” Omar wrote.
The message was widely shared across political circles, with leaders cutting across party lines expressing grief over the passing of one of Jammu and Kashmir’s senior-most political figures.
Born into Kashmir’s most prominent political family, Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal was the son of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Begum Akbar Jehan Abdullah. He grew up witnessing the formative years of Kashmir’s modern political history and eventually entered public life under the banner of the National Conference, where he emerged as one of its most vocal and uncompromising leaders.
Although trained as a medical doctor, politics soon became his full-time calling. His grounding in medicine earned him the prefix “Dr”, but it was his sharp political articulation and organizational abilities that made him a household name in Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Kamal entered electoral politics in the early 1980s and became a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council in 1983. Four years later, he was elected to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly from the Gulmarg constituency, which he represented for multiple terms. Throughout his legislative career, he remained closely associated with the National Conference’s political campaigns and organizational affairs.
He served as a Cabinet Minister in successive National Conference governments formed in 1983, 1987 and 1996, handling important portfolios during a politically turbulent period in Jammu and Kashmir. Beyond ministerial responsibilities, he played a crucial role in shaping the party’s political messaging and often acted as one of its principal spokespersons during periods of intense political contestation.
Within the National Conference, Dr Kamal was regarded as a trusted adviser to Dr Farooq Abdullah. He was instrumental in strengthening the party organization at the grassroots and remained deeply involved in policy discussions, election strategies and public outreach programmes. In recent years, he served as the party’s Additional General Secretary and regularly interacted with public delegations at the National Conference headquarters in Srinagar.
Known for his forthright style, Dr Kamal seldom shied away from expressing his views on issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir. Whether it was the demand for restoration of statehood, protection of constitutional rights or questions relating to the political future of the Union Territory, he remained among the National Conference’s most articulate and consistent voices. Even during periods of ill health, he continued participating in organizational activities whenever his condition permitted.
His political career was marked by unwavering loyalty to the National Conference. Unlike many contemporaries who changed political affiliations over the decades, Dr Kamal remained steadfastly associated with the party founded by his father, becoming one of its longest-serving senior leaders.
Colleagues often described him as a leader with a remarkable memory of Kashmir’s political history. His speeches frequently drew upon historical events, constitutional developments and the legacy of Sheikh Abdullah, making him one of the party’s principal interpreters of its ideological position.
Beyond politics, Dr Kamal was known for his accessibility and warm personal rapport with party workers. Senior NC functionaries often recalled that despite holding high office, he remained approachable and regularly met delegations from across Jammu and Kashmir to hear their grievances.
His demise comes at a politically significant time for the National Conference, which has been actively campaigning for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. Party leaders described his death as an irreparable loss, saying his decades of political experience and institutional memory would be difficult to replace.
Funeral arrangements are expected to be announced by the family, with political leaders, party workers and admirers likely to gather in large numbers to pay their last respects to the veteran leader. With Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal’s passing, Jammu and Kashmir loses not merely a former minister or senior National Conference functionary, but one of the last surviving political figures whose public life was deeply intertwined with the evolution of Kashmir’s post-Independence politics and the enduring legacy of the Abdullah family. [KNT]
