Srinagar, April 17 — Kashmir’s chief preacher Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Thursday urged the Centre to release Baramulla MP Sheikh Abdul Rashid on humanitarian grounds to allow him to visit his ailing father, currently admitted to a hospital in Srinagar.
“Visited the critically ill father of incarcerated MP Engineer Rashid admitted at SMHS, yearning to see his son lodged in Tihar jail for a meeting which could be their last,” Mirwaiz said in a post on X.
He appealed to the Government of India to permit Rashid’s release for a meeting with his father. “I urge the Government of India to release Engineer Rashid to meet his ailing father, at least on humanitarian grounds,” he said.
Mirwaiz said the situation reflects the “silent suffering of political prisoners” and their families across Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in the country, calling it “heartbreaking”.
Rashid’s father, Khazir Mohammad Sheikh, is undergoing treatment at SMHS hospital, where Mirwaiz visited him and prayed for his recovery.
Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, is currently lodged in Tihar jail. He won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 general elections, defeating Omar Abdullah and Sajad Gani Lone in a triangular contest.