Engineer Rashid hands over letters to national leaders in Parliament

Jailed MP and chief of Awami Itihaad Party, Engineer Rashid, on Monday handed a letter to senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several other national leaders belonging to all major political parties, urging them to adopt a “humane, realistic and dialogue-centered approach towards Jammu & Kashmir.”

In a statement, AIP chief spokesperson Inam Un Nabi said Lok Sabha MP, on his very first day inside the Parliament hall, Er Rashid made it a point to walk across the Parliament Hall and deliver the letter individually to leaders cutting across the political spectrum, “demonstrating his commitment to peace over politics.”

“This was his first gesture inside Parliament—not a speech, not a slogan, but a sincere appeal for justice and reconciliation,” he said.

Quoting from the letter, Nabi said Rashid reminded national leaders that Kashmiris have been unfairly projected and “reduced to being named as Indian or Pakistani proxies, despite being the main stakeholders.”

The MP urged leaders to rise above electoral politics. “Let all the fake narratives end now. A realistic and pragmatic approach must be owned by all stakeholders. J&K is not just a piece of land for vote-bank politics,” he said, adding, “Permanent peace can come only through meaningful dialogue and by treating J&K as a humanitarian problem.”

“Kindly raise your voice for the release of all political prisoners from J&K languishing in jails for years and ensure restoration of full statehood and end to state oppression,” he wrote.

He also emphasised the need to heal displaced communities: “We must ensure the return of Kashmiri Pandits and those who fled border areas in the early nineties.”