Delhi, Aug 25, KNT: A sit-in protest was held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Monday to mark six years of incarceration of Baramulla Member of Parliament and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) president Engineer Rashid.
Scores of supporters, activists, and sympathisers participated in the demonstration, carrying placards and banners demanding the immediate release of Er Rashid and other Kashmiris lodged in jails across the country and Jammu and Kashmir.
The protestors raised slogans terming the continued detention of Er Rashid an “assault on democracy,” arguing that keeping a democratically elected MP behind bars undermines the very mandate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Posters carried by the demonstrators read: “Prison walls cannot silence people’s mandate” and “When leaders are jailed, democracy fails.”
Several speakers at the sit-in, including civil society members from Delhi such as noted peace activist O.P. Shah, expressed solidarity with the demand. They described Er Rashid’s six-year incarceration despite his electoral mandate as “a travesty of justice,” stressing that he should be allowed to represent his constituents inside Parliament.
Leaders addressing the gathering warned that prolonged detentions of political figures erode public faith in democratic institutions. “Six years of incarceration despite overwhelming public support is unjust. The government must immediately release Er Rashid,” one of the speakers said. [KNT]
