J&K MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid detained before protest march in Kashmir

Independent MLA Langate Er Rasheed was detained on Monday after he tried to gherao the civil secretariat on its opening day after six months here. Express Photo By Shuaib Masoodi

Police detained Independent MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid when he and his supporters tried to take out a protest march as the civil secretariat reopened here on Monday. Rashid, along with supporters of his Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), tried to take out the march from Magarmal Bagh towards the civil secretariat but a large contingent of police stopped them near the Exhibition Crossing, a police official said.

He said the legislator from north Kashmir’s Langate and his supporters tried to proceed further, but the police swung into action and took Rashid and a few of his supporters into custody. Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) held a peaceful sit-in near party head office at Moulana Azad Road here. The protest was led by JKPCC president Ghulam Ahmad Mir. Speaking to reporters, Mir said the Mehbooba Mufti government has failed on all fronts.

“I want to ask the chief minister that what for is she running the government. There is no dialogue (with Hurriyat Conference), there is no headway on AFSPA, no talk on return of power projects, schools and colleges are closed, development has been halted and tourism stopped. “So, what for is this government here now? Now, only Oxygen remains,” Mir said.

Referring to Mufti’s statement that only Narendra Modi can resolve the Kashmir issue as he had the support of the entire nation, Mir said the prime minister has not uttered a word about the Centre’s Kashmir policy in three years. “We have a democratic right to know on what basis did Mehbooba say that. People also want to know that,” he said.