Disheartened by negative attitudes towards Kashmiris in comments to the article, Shah changed the focus of the blog to be a news magazine.
Following the August 2019 Revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, the internet blackout and curfews led to the news magazine not being able to publish for months.
[13] Shah has been summoned multiple times by Indian security agencies in relation to news reports he has published.
[14] In October 2018, Shah was accused of sexual harassment and molestation by multiple women during the height of the Metoo movement in India.
[19] Shah was arrested by Kashmiri police on 4 February 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for "frequently glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news, and instigating people".
[25] He had been called in for questioning following coverage in The Kashmir Walla of a police raid in the Pulwama district where four people were killed.
[31] After about 21 months in Kot Bhalwal Jail,[32][33] on November 17 2023, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court dismissed charges under various sections of UAPA against Shah observing that “[i]f this [the prosecution’s] argument is accepted, it would literally turn criminal law on its head.
It would mean that any criticism of the Central government can be described as a terrorist act because the honour of India is its incorporeal property.”[34][35] Shah was nominated for a Reporters Without Borders award in 2020.
[36] He received the Human Rights Press Award for Explanatory Feature Writing in 2021 for reporting on violence against Muslims in Delhi for The Nation.