Incarcerated Awami Ittehad Party chief and member of parliament from Baramulla, IIOJK,  Er Rashid, today, began a two-day hunger strike in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail to protest the killings in Ladakh and to expose New Delhi’s discriminatory approach towards Kashmiris.

 According to Kashmir Media Service, AIP Chief Spokesperson Inam Un Nabi in a statement issued in Srinagar said that Er Rashid, before starting the strike, expressed deep pain over the loss of lives in Ladakh, stressing that violence has no place in any society.

He extended solidarity with the people of Ladakh but reminded them that they had supported the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and the division of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories in August 2019. 

Inam Un Nabi quoted the jailed MP as questioning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on why the government was offering dialogue to Ladakhis despite violence in the region, while continuing to muzzle peaceful Kashmiri voices seeking a just resolution to the lingering dispute.

The AIP spokesperson said Er Rashid’s hunger strike is both a protest against the bloodshed in Ladakh and a reminder of India’s betrayal of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who are being denied their democratic and internationally recognized rights.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)