Handwara, Nov 22 (KNS) : Awami Itihaad Party (AIP) Senior Leader and MLA Langate Sheikh Khursheed while addressing mourners at the funeral congregation of his cousin Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh, who is also the cousin brother of incarcerated MP Baramulla Er Rashid, said it was a tragedy upon a tragedy that Er Rashid despite being elected by a massive public mandate, was not allowed to attend the funeral prayers of his own brother.

“We call ourselves the world’s largest democracy, yet an elected Member of Parliament is denied the basic human right to shoulder the bier of his own brother. This is not just injustice, this is deliberate cruelty, an assault on humanity itself,” he said, lambasting the government for what he called “inhuman and vindictive” detention practices.

Sheikh Khursheed added that this fate is not unique to Er Rashid alone “Hundreds of detainees and political prisoners inside and outside Jammu & Kashmir are suffering the same pain.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelTheir families grieve but they are kept away from funerals, weddings, tragedies and life’s most painful moments. This is a collective wound inflicted on our society.”

Calling the situation “morally indefensible and legally questionable,” he urged the Government of India and the judiciary to immediately end the unjust and prolonged detention of MP Er Rashid and other political prisoners. “It is time to restore humanity, dignity and democratic values. Keeping an elected MP behind bars while his people and family suffer is a stain on any democracy,” MLA Sheikh Khursheed said.(KNS)