Jailed Member of Parliament and Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) President Abdul Rashid Sheikh, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, has announced that he will observe a 24-hour hunger strike inside Tihar Jail tomorrow.
According to AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi, Engineer Rashid has formally communicated his decision to the jail authorities.
The hunger strike, he said, aims to draw attention to the “deafening silence” of national political parties over the plight of hundreds of Kashmiris incarcerated under what he termed as “draconian laws” like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Nabi said Engineer Rashid conveyed his decision during a recent meeting with his family, asserting that the “hypocrisy” of both BJP and Congress in accusing each other of throttling democracy must be exposed.
“It is unfortunate that both parties are leaving no stone unturned to accuse each other of bulldozing liberty, freedom and fundamental rights during their respective regimes. Yet, both are partners in crime when it comes to snatching the constitutional, democratic and human rights of Kashmiris,” Jailed MP told his family.
“While the BJP is correctly highlighting the atrocities committed during the 1975 Emergency, it conveniently forgets how it has treated Kashmiris over the past 11 years-jailing legitimate political voices, silencing dissent and branding political belief as criminality. Congress and others, on the other hand, accuse the Modi government of imposing an undeclared emergency but remain silent about the hundreds of Kashmiris languishing in Tihar and other prisons under draconian laws like UAPA, simply for their political beliefs,” he further remarked.
Engineer Rashid’s hunger strike will begin from 8 pm Saturday, also aims to remind the people of India that while heated debates rage over past and present emergencies, the continued and systematic denial of rights to Kashmiris since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, cannot and must not be forgotten, the spokesman said
The Baramulla MP, who defeated Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is facing trial in a terror funding case.
