Jailed Kashmiri MP Engr Rasheed begins 24-hour hunger strike in Tihar Jail
Srinagar: Jailed member of Indian parliament from occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Engineer Sheikh Abdul Rasheed, began a 24-hour hunger strike inside Tihar Jail on Saturday evening to protest the continued denial of democratic and legal rights to Kashmiris.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, a spokesman for his party Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) said that AIP leaders in Kashmir also joined the hunger strike in solidarity. “We are observing a hunger strike to support our party president, who has been languishing in jail since 2019. We want to draw attention to the plight of hundreds of Kashmiris still detained in Tihar and other prisons under draconian laws.”
The hunger strike also aims to highlight the deafening silence of Indian political parties regarding the hundreds of Kashmiris imprisoned under repressive laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), merely for holding political beliefs.
AIP General Secretary Prince Parvaiz stated, “Engineer Rasheed feels the pain of these prisoners and their families, as he himself is a victim. We are morally bound to stand with him and support his call. This hunger strike is our way of showing solidarity with our leader.”
The party spokesperson further added that Rasheed’s protest is intended to remind the people of India that while debates continue about the Emergency of 1975 and the suppression of dissent under the Modi government, the ongoing denial of rights to Kashmiris since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, must not be forgotten.
