SRINAGAR: Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) on Friday released a letter from incarcerated Baramulla MP Er Rashid, announcing his decision to go on a two-day hunger strike inside Tihar Jail from 20 September.
The letter, addressed to the Director General of Prisons, stated that the strike would begin at 11 am and last up to 48 hours. Er Rashid described it as a symbolic protest against what he termed the “hypocrisy” of both Indian and Pakistani governments, accusing them of “befooling their people with fake cricket tamashas” during the Asia Cup while ignoring the sacrifices of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Highlighting that nearly 70,000 lives have been lost in JK since 1989, he said the region continues to be treated as a “laboratory for immoral and illogical political experiments.” He questioned why India and Pakistan could share cricket grounds, international stages, and Track-2 dialogues but not acknowledge “the voice of pain of the people of Kashmir.”
The jailed MP urged civil society, judiciary, media, and political parties on both sides to respect the political and human rights of Kashmiris. He also criticised Pakistan, recalling how Kashmiri voices critical of its policies were once branded “Indian agents,” while today Pakistani leaders “beg for handshakes with Indian cricketers who dedicated their victory to Operation Sindoor.”
Er Rashid wrote that the hunger strike was meant to “wake the conscience of people of India and Pakistan” to the ongoing suffering and denial of rights in JK, while also exposing the “cricket hypocrisy” of both governments.
Copies of the letter have also been shared with his legal counsel and family. -(KL)
