A Delhi court on Monday deferred the hearing on the bail petition of Awami Itehad Party (AIP) leader and MP from north Kashmir’s Baramulla, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, better known as Engineer Rashid, until November 19. “Engineer Sahab will remain in jail till November 19,” said Inam-un-Nabi, Rashid’s aide and chief spokesman for AIP, speaking to THE WEEK.
Rashid, accompanied by Inam-un-Nabi, travelled to Delhi to surrender before Tihar jail authorities after his interim bail expired. He was initially granted interim bail until October 2 to campaign for his party in the recently held Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections. The court later extended his bail till October 13, then further to October 28.
He was arrested in 2019 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a 2017 terror funding case.
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While in jail, he contested the Lok Sabha election and emerged victorious, defeating National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and People’s Conference (PC) leader Sajad Lone in Baramulla. In the recent assembly polls, AIP achieved limited success, winning only from its stronghold in Langate, Kupwara where Rashid’s brother, Sheikh Khursheed, secured the seat after resigning from government service.
The AIP leader had previously won from Langate assembly seat in both 2008 and 2014. During the assembly elections, Rashid faced accusations from rivals—the National Conference, People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and People’s Conference—who claimed he was a proxy for the BJP. Rashid strongly denied these allegations, pointing to his resounding victory in the Lok Sabha elections, where he defeated his opponents by over 2.5 lakh votes.