Srinagar, Aug 25, KDC: A massive sit-in protest is underway at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to mark six years of incarceration of Baramulla MP and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) president, Engineer Rashid.
Hundreds of supporters, activists, and sympathisers joined the protest carrying placards and banners demanding the immediate release of Er Rashid and other Kashmiris lodged in jails across the country and Jammu and Kashmir.
Demonstrators raised slogans terming Rashid’s continued detention an “assault on democracy,” arguing that keeping a democratically elected MP behind bars undermines the mandate of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Placards carried by protestors read, “Prison walls cannot silence people’s mandate” and “When leaders are jailed, democracy fails.”
Several civil society members from Delhi, including noted peace activist O.P. Shah, also joined the demonstration. Leaders addressing the gathering described Rashid’s prolonged incarceration as “a travesty of justice” and warned that denying elected representatives their parliamentary role erodes public faith in democratic institutions.
The protestors urged the Government of India to immediately release Er Rashid so that he can represent his people in Parliament. (KDC)
