Khurshid Ahmed Sheikh, brother of J&K’s Baramulla MP and Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) chief Engineer Abdul Rashid, has resigned from his post. He had applied for voluntary retirement (VRS), which has been approved by the Jammu and Kashmir government. Now there is talk that Ahmed Sheikh may contest the upcoming assembly elections. Sheikh was posted as a teacher since 2003. He is expected to contest from Langate assembly seat in North Kashmir. His brother Engineer Rashid used to contest elections on this seat.
The order of Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary, School Education Department, states that the government has accepted the request for voluntary retirement of Khurshid Ahmed Sheikh. The order states that the voluntary retirement of Khurshid Ahmed Sheikh is approved from 01.09.2024. Some conditions have been laid down in the order, which states that clearance from Vigilance is necessary.
Engineer Abdul Rashid, former MLA from Langate and currently MP from Baramulla, has been a vocal critic of the policies of the state and central government. He is currently lodged in Tihar jail in the alleged terror funding case. In the recently held Lok Sabha elections, Engineer Rashid won the Baramulla seat by defeating National Conference vice-president and former chief minister Omar Abdullah by two lakh votes. Rashid was also in jail during the elections. During this time, his election campaign was led by him and his son Abrar Rashid. Buoyed by the unexpected victory in the Lok Sabha elections, his party has now fielded its candidates in various parts of Kashmir and is expanding its base further.
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Khurshid Ahmed Sheikh is following in the footsteps of his brother Engineer Rashid. Engineer Rashid also left his job as an engineer in the Jammu and Kashmir government and contested the assembly elections as an independent candidate. He won the Langate seat in 2008 and then won the election from the same seat in 2014. After this he formed AIP. Rashid has been in jail since 2019 after being arrested by the NIA under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2017 in a terrorism funding case. Rashid’s name came up during the investigation against Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali. Watali was arrested by the NIA on charges of funding terrorist organizations and separatists in the Kashmir Valley.
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Sheikh’s decision to enter politics has led to allegations that Engineer Rashid’s party AIP is also becoming a dynastic political party. However, Ahmed Sheikh said that this is not ‘family rule’ but ‘family sacrifice’. He said, “I left my job of 15 years, this is not dynastic politics but an example of sacrifice. Whatever work the party assigns me, I am ready for it.”
Recently, two prominent personalities of Kashmir – former MLA Yasir Reshi and former president of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Sheikh Ashiq have also joined AIP. Both these leaders will also contest from Sonawari and Ganderbal seats respectively. Omar Abdullah is in the electoral fray from Ganderbal. Let us tell you that assembly elections are being held in Jammu and Kashmir after a decade. Voting will be held in the state in three phases on 18 and 25 September and 1 October and the results will be declared on 8 October. This is the first assembly election since the repeal of Article 370 five years ago and the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was abolished.
