Jailed Kashmiri politician Sheikh Abdul Rashid set to take oath as MP today, kin to attend ceremony

Srinagar, July 4

Jailed Kashmiri politician Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, is all set to take oath as a Lok Sabha member on Friday. His family members and Awami Ittehad Party leaders have arrived in Delhi to witness the oath-taking ceremony.

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted two-hour custody parole to Rashid after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) allowed him to take oath as an MP. Party leaders told The Tribune that besides Rashid’s family members, several party leaders too have arrived in Delhi.

“For now, we have been informed that only family members will be allowed to participate in the event on Friday,” said Prince Parvez Shah, general secretary of Awami Ittehad Party headed by Rashid.

Shah said Rashid’s sons Abrar and Asrar were also in Delhi. His sons had managed the campaign during the Lok Sabha elections.

He said the swearing-in ceremony would take place in Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s chamber on Friday. Rashid, 56, a two-time MLA from the Langate Assembly constituency in Kupwara district, contested elections for the first time in 2008.

Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after he was charged by the NIA for his alleged involvement in a terror funding case. He is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. Last month, he moved the Delhi court seeking interim bail or custody parole to take oath.