Jailed Kashmiri lawmaker granted time to campaign in upcoming polls

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

An Indian court granted conditional bail Tuesday to a Kashmiri lawmaker to campaign in upcoming elections in the disputed region.

The Indian Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in New Delhi granted interim bail to Sheikh Abdul Rashid, also known as Engineer Rashid, who was elected to parliament in June.

Rashid was granted bail until Oct. 2, subjected to the condition that he would not speak to the media.

India announced three-phased parliamentary elections in Jammu and Kashmir from Sept. 18 - Oct. 1. The 90-seat legislature was last elected in 2014.

Rashid, 57, who has been in prison since August 2019 in an alleged terror funding case, was granted a two-hour custody parole in July to take the oath of office. Only his family was allowed to attend the ceremony.​​​​​​​

He has been elected as an independent candidate to the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly twice since 2008, as part of the party he founded, the Awami Ittehad Party.

The abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s limited political autonomy on Aug. 5, 2019, by New Delhi saw the detention and arrest of scores of pro-freedom leaders and local politicians.

Rashid is a mainstream leader who supports India’s claims that the disputed region is not occupied and is part of greater India.

Despite his stance, Rashid has been charged with funding terror activities under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the NIA.