Engineer Rashid Returns: A Voice for Dignity and Peace in Kashmir

Returning after five years in prison, MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid emphasized that peace in Kashmir must be on the local populace’s terms, rejecting central government-imposed conditions. Known as Engineer Rashid, he expressed his intent to fight for the dignity and rights of Kashmiris, criticizing the decisions taken by the central government.

Returning home after more than five years of imprisonment, Member of Parliament Sheikh Abdul Rashid said Thursday that no one needs peace more than the people of Kashmir but insisted, ''that peace will come at our conditions,'' not according to the terms set by the Centre.

Popularly known as Engineer Rashid, the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief touched down at Srinagar airport in the morning and displayed his gratitude by bowing down on the road after exiting the terminal.

''We want to tell (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi that no one needs peace more than we do. But that peace will come at our conditions, not yours. We do not want the peace of a graveyard but peace with dignity,'' he asserted.

Expressing gratitude to the supporters who had gathered outside the airport to welcome him, the Baramulla MP emphasized the resilience of the people of Kashmir, stating they are not weak.

''The people of Kashmir will win as the people of Jammu and Kashmir are on the path of truth. The decisions taken by Narendra Modi on August 5, 2019, are totally unacceptable to us. Whether you send Engineer Rashid to Tihar or anywhere else, we will emerge victorious,'' he maintained, referring to the revocation of Article 370 by the Centre.

Accompanied by his son and party leaders, Rashid urged his supporters to remain courageous because ''the truth is with us.''

''Nobody on earth, be it Narendra Modi, be it Amit Shah, can suppress our voice. The truth is with us and truth will be victorious. We are not begging. We want to be treated like humans,'' he declared.

''We want the Jammu and Kashmir issue, which has been pending since 1947 and has claimed 4-5 lakh lives, to be resolved so that peace returns to the whole sub-continent, no mother loses her children and nobody is imprisoned,'' the MP added.

Rashid, who was released from Tihar jail on Wednesday, insisted that the power of being an MP or an MLA did not matter to him as ''everything comes later on.''

''First, the self-respect, rights and liberty of Kashmiris have to be protected, preserved and honored,'' he affirmed.

Asked about the NC and PDP targeting him, Rashid, a two-time legislator in the erstwhile assembly of J-K, said he held high regard for the leadership of both the parties ''but I am fighting a fight for those people for whom they do not have the courage to fight.''

''They were invisible for the last five years. That is why they lost in the parliamentary election. My fight is much bigger than what the PDP and NC are trying today,'' Rashid stated.

He contended he was not pleased over Omar Abdullah's loss in the Lok Sabha polls, ''but (I am satisfied) that the people of north Kashmir burst the bubble of Modi's 'naya' Kashmir.''

''I salute the people of north Kashmir, the people of whole Kashmir,'' Rashid concluded.

The AIP supremo later departed for Baramulla, where he was scheduled to address a public gathering at Delina.

(With inputs from agencies.)