AIP stages sit-in at Jantar Mantar seeking release of jailed MP Er Rashid

Srinagar, Aug 25: Awami Ittehaad Party (AIP) on Monday organised a sit-in demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to commemorate six years of imprisonment of the party president and Member of Parliament (MP) Baramulla, Engineer Rashid.Hundreds of the party’s supporters, activists, and sympathisers joined the rally, with placards and banners calling for the release of Er Rashid and other Kashmiris detained in prisons around the country and Jammu and Kashmir.Protesters chanted slogans calling Rashid’s detention an “assault on democracy”, since holding a democratically elected MP in prison goes against the mandate of Jammu and Kashmir’s people. The slogans on posters among the protesters included “Prison walls cannot silence people’s mandate” and “When leaders are jailed, democracy fails”.Some of the speakers in the sit-in, among whom were members of civil society in Delhi like renowned peace activist O P Shah, sided with the demand. They termed Rashid’s six years of imprisonment on account of his electoral mandate as “a travesty of justice”, underscoring that he should be permitted to represent his constituents within Parliament.Addressing the event, the AIP chief’s younger brother and MLA Langate Shiekh Khurshid said their demand went beyond his release. “It is not only Er Rashid. He said there are thousands of political prisoners incarcerated in jails in India and Jammu and Kashmir.”It is unjust and undemocratic to keep them in detention. We demand their voices be heard, and we demand their freedom,” Khurshid said.Speakers who stepped forward and were leading the crowd issued warnings that the prolonged detentions of political leaders undermine public trust in democratic institutions. “Six years of imprisonment, despite the strong popular support, is unjust. The government must release Er Rashid forthwith,” said one of the speakers.Rashid, a two-time ex-MLA from Langate before joining Parliament, was taken into custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2019 for his involvement in a terror-funding case. Despite fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Tihar Jail, he beat Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Baramulla by a landslide majority. His supporters claim his win represents the people’s wish, which, according to them, is being neglected by imprisoning him.Monday’s sit-in was one of the AIP’s consistent protests to secure Rashid’s release. The party indicated that similar protests would continue until Rashid and other Kashmiri political prisoners are released. The protest went peacefully, though the participants made it clear that the government should “respect the democratic verdict” and see to it that elected lawmakers are not gagged through imprisonment.