The News Craving
Srinagar:
Several members of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), including the son of party chief Sheikh Abdul Rashid (Engineer Rashid), were detained on Friday while attempting to hold a day-long hunger strike in Srinagar, demanding Rashid’s release from Tihar jail.
Authorities had denied the protestors permission to demonstrate at Pratap Park in Lal Chowk, prompting them to gather instead at Sangarmal Shopping Complex. However, police were already stationed at the location and detained multiple party workers, including Rashid’s son, Abrar, shifting them to Kothibagh Police Station.
Before his detention, Abrar told reporters the Baramulla MP, has been imprisoned for over five years and is not being allowed to participate in parliamentary proceedings.
The AIP stated that the protest was an expression of solidarity with Rashid, who has begun an indefinite hunger strike in Tihar Jail. Rashid won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat last year, defeating former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and People’s Conference leader Sajad Gani Lone and is lodged in Tihar jail in a militant funding case.
