"Engineer Rashid's victory will empower secessionists in J-K": Omar Abdullah

JKNC`s Omar Abdullah

The leader of the Jammu Kashmir National Conference, who is currently facing charges of funding terrorism, and the losing candidate for the Lok Sabha seat from Baramulla, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, has stated that the victory of Sheikh will provide a newfound sense of hope to the "defeated" Islamist movement in Kashmir and empower secessionists. Engineer Rashid had won the polls, while Abdullah had lost.

"Rashid's victory, without doubt, will empower secessionists and give Kashmir's defeated Islamist movement a renewed sense of hope," Omar Abdullah said in a post on X. "Efforts to draw secessionism back into electoral politics led New Delhi to support the rise of the People's Democratic Party and its alliance with the BJP. That, however, ended up empowering violent secessionists, not mainstreaming them--a warning of the unpredictable outcomes of trying to manipulate politics," he added. Omar Abdullah's comments drew sharp criticism from PDP's Waheed Para who accused Abdullah of not acknowledging the people's mandate.

Disappointed beyond measure with Omar Abdullah's retrograde posture, which echoes the polarising politics of 1987 and refers to a democratic expression as a "Islamist wave." Due to his family's connection with the Muslim Conference, there will always be friction between Kashmir and the state and demands for the exclusion of Er Rashid, PDP, and JEI. A more responsible course of action would have been to acknowledge the mandate, just like Mehbooba Mufti did when she pleaded for Engineer Rashid's release.

Rashid Sheikh also referred to as Engineer Rashid, campaigned as an independent for the Baramulla constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and defeated Omar Abdullah. Having collected 47,2481 votes, he won by a margin of 204142 votes. Mehbooba Mufti, the leader of the PDP and a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, hailed Engineer Rashid on his release on Wednesday and asked the government to honour the people's decision.

"Heartfelt congratulations to Mian Altaf, Aga Ruhullah, Engineer Rashid & Haneefa Jan for winning the parliament elections. Government of India must respect the verdict of the people & release Engineer Rashid," Mufti said in a post on X. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, besides Rashid winning the Baramulla seat, the National Conference and the BJP won two seats each in Jammu and Kashmir. The BJP did not field any candidate in Kashmir.

(With Inputs from ANI)