Srinagar(Jammu and Kashmir):Member of Parliament from Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) President, Er Rashid, who was released from Tihar jail on bail in a terror funding case, landed at the Srinagar airport on Thursday.
“Alhamdulillah, landed at the Srinagar airport,” Rashid wrote in a post on his official Facebook page.
Shortly after landing at the airport, Rashid broke down and prostrated on the road. Dozens of his supporters were present at the airport to welcome him after over five years which he spent in Tihar jail, accused by National Investigation Agency of terror funding.
Asked about his first reaction on landing in his homeland after years of incarceration, Rashid said, “I want to tell my nation not to lose heart and get discouraged. Truth is with us. Nobody on earth, be it Narendra Modi, be it Amit Shah, can suppress our voices. Truth is with us and truth will be victorious. We are not begging anybody. We want to be treated like humans. We want that Jammu and Kashmir issue which is pending since 1947 and has claimed 4-5 lakh lives be resolved so that peace returns to the sub-continent so that no mother loses her children and nobody is imprisoned...”
"Being in power or being an MP or MLA doesn't matter. The self-respect, rights and liberty of Kashmiris has to be protected, preserved and honoured first," he added.
'Fighting On Behalf Of The Powerless'
Asked about his landslide victory against former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the Lok Sabha election on Baramulla constituency by more than 2 lakh votes, Rashid said, "I have high regards for other leaders, but my fight is for the powerless who are unable to fight on their own".
"They (political leaders) were invisible for the last five years. That is why they suffered drubbing in the parliamentary elections. My fight is much more bigger than what PDP and NC are trying to do," he said.