For the first time in a long while that pro-Kashmiri leader Engineer Rashid was released from jail on a two-hour parole so that he could take an oath to be a member of the 18th Lok Sabha, Patiala House court, Delhi.
Rashid of the Baramulla constituency in Jammu and Kashmir trounced former state Chief Minister and National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah by over 200000 votes.
In this case, the 56-year-old politician was arrested in 2019 by National Investigation Agency (NIA) while investigating a money laundering scam connected to terror funding. He has since been detained in Tihar Jail, New Delhi, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
This becomes evident through the public oath-taking ceremony, which was conducted in an enclosed room. The few people in attendance were Rashid’s wife, children, and brother.
Two of his party functionaries were also in attendance. This was followed by the identification of all attendees; no one was allowed to own or use mobile phones or go online.
Rashid was returned to prison right after the ceremony, and, due to the court’s order, he was not allowed to meet with anyone, including the media, before or after.
The decision to permit Rashid’s temporary release and oath-taking has been described as an exception, proving the rule of the peculiarities of the political process in Jammu and Kashmir.
