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In Frames: Er Rashid addresses energetic supporters at first rally after being freed from Tihar

He said he wants self-respect, peace with dignity and not the peace of the graveyard.

05:19 PM Sep 12, 2024 IST | GK Photo Desk

in frames er rashid addresses energetic supporters at first rally after being freed from tihar

Supporters sit behind the concertina wires as they watch and listen to Er Rashid in Baramulla on Thursday 12 Sep 2024. Photo: Mubashir Khan/ GK

Parliamentarian from north Kashmir and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief, Sheikh Rashid or Er Rashid Thursday morning reached Srinagar.

Just as he landed, Rashid bowed down in gratitude to God. Returning home after more than five years of imprisonment, he said no one needs peace more than the people of Kashmir but “that peace will come at our conditions” and not on the terms set by the Centre.

Rashid walked out of Tihar Jail yesterday after a court in Delhi granted him interim bail till Oct 2 in a case related to alleged terror funding.

The north Kashmir MP then continued his journey to Baramulla where thousands of his supporters, mainly youth were waiting for him to arrive and speak.

Rashid spoke in his signature style amid cheers and massive sloganeering in favour of him by the audience. He kept signalling them to keep calm, as loud slogans kept masking his speech.

Rashid's appearance is expected to compel the traditional parties to change strategies, even as the way he has been able to pull the crowd, analysts say it would be difficult for JKNC, Cong, and PDP to dominate the ground.

Although JKNC and PDP have alleged Rashid to be BJP's proxy, Rashid distanced himself from everyone.

Rashid commenced his speech by thanking the people of north Kashmir for giving him a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year. He was incarcerated during the time. Photo: Mubashir Khan/ GK

He called for an end to imprisoning Kashmiris in Tihar Jail while urging the centre to resolve the Kashmir issue once and for all. Photo: Mubashir Khan/ GK

He said the vote in Lok Sabha elections was not for him but against the model of ‘Naya Kashmir’ projected by the Narendra Modi-led central government and their decisions of August 5, 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh’s special status was revoked, and the state was downgraded into two separate Union Territories. Photo: Mubashir Khan/ GK

Attacking PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and her late father, Rashid said that their betrayal was bigger than of Sheikh Abdullah. For, Mufti’s, he said, they brought the Bharatiya Janata Party to J&K. Photo: Mubashir Khan/ GK

If Mehbooba had conscience, she should have apologized to people for joining hands with BJP after they broke the government, Rashid said. Photo: Mubashir Khan/ GK

“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 said, referring to the revocation of Article 370 by the Centre. Photo: Mubashir Khan/ GK

He concluded his speech by asking his supporters to, “be humble, don’t welcome me or my party members with garlands.”