Srinagar, Jun 28: Jailed Member of Parliament (MP) and Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) president, Er Rasheed, has begun a 24-hour hunger strike inside Tihar Jail from 8:00 pm Saturday evening to protest the “continued denial of democratic and legal rights” to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the party said.
Responding to his call, a wide section of AIP leadership and grassroots representatives across the region have joined the hunger strike in solidarity, the AIP Chief Spokesperson, Inam Un Nabi said in a statement issued here.
Those participating include AIP Vice President G. N. Shaheen, senior AIP leader and former MLA Langate Sheikh Khursheed, General Secretaries Prince Parvaiz and Nazir Ahmad Khan, Chairman Political Affairs Committee Ishtiyaq Qaderi, Senior Leader Firdous Baba, State Secretary Sheikh Ashiq, Adv Dawood of Lolab, Mohammad Akbar of Pattan, Haji Engineer Muneer of Uri, Prof Naseer Rather, Ajaz Ahmad Lone, Ajaz Thakur, Mohammad Arif of Shangus, Auqib Mushtaq, Zameer Dakroo, Tauseef Ahmad, Altaf Ahmad Bhat, Abdul Qayoom of Sopore and District Development Council (DDC) members Dr Harbaksh Singh, Muzaffar Ahmad, and Khursheed Ahmad Dar, according to the statement.
Inam said, “Our president is raising the voice of the voiceless Kashmiri prisoners. We stand with him in this protest against injustice.”
He said the hunger strike is not just an act of solidarity but a moral call to the conscience of the nation. “Er Rasheed has been in jail for years without conviction and hundreds of other Kashmiris face the same fate, languishing in prisons under draconian laws. His protest is a reminder that justice cannot be selective, and silence cannot be mistaken for peace, ” the spokesperson said.
“As his colleagues and fellow Kashmiris, we are duty-bound to join him in this peaceful resistance. We refuse to let the voices of the innocent be buried behind bars,” he added.
“The AIP once again urges national and regional political parties to shed their silence and speak up for the hundreds of Kashmiris imprisoned without trial,” the spokesperson said, adding, “We demand immediate justice and fair legal recourse.”
