Engineer Rashid Released: Vows to Challenge Modi’s ‘Naya Kashmir’ Vision

Engineer Rashid, who has been in jail since 2019 for a terror funding case, was granted interim bail till October 2 to campaign for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.

Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, was released from Tihar Jail on Wednesday, following a Delhi court granting him interim bail until October 2 in a terror funding case.

Walking out of jail, Engineer Rashid vowed to fight against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Naya Kashmir’ narrative. His release came allowing him to campaign for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.

“After remaining in jail for 5.5 years, I feel myself stronger and proud of my people. I take a pledge that I will not let down my people, I take a pledge that I will fight Modi’s narrative of ‘Naya Kashmir’, which has miserably failed in Jammu and Kashmir. People have rejected whatsoever he did on August 5, 2019,” Rashid said.

According to a senior prison official, Rashid was released from jail at 4.15 pm. His release comes ahead of Assembly Elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Rashid has been imprisoned since 2019 after being arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a 2017 terror funding case.

Rashid defeated former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Baramulla. The 2024 Assembly elections will mark the first local elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370.

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls will be held in three phases – September 18, September 25 and October 1 and results will be declared on October 8. Rashid’s party, Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), is set to contest the upcoming assembly elections.

Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh granted Rashid interim bail on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh and a surety of the same amount. The judge also imposed conditions, including a ban on Rashid discussing the terror case with the media.