Jailed Lok Sabha MP from Jammu and Kashmir, Engineer Abdul Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid, has announced a two-day hunger strike in Tihar Jail starting Saturday, September 20, 2025. This protest is timed to coincide with the India-Pakistan cricket match and is intended to highlight the plight of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rashid, who represents the Baramulla constituency, is protesting what he describes as the "hypocrisy of Indian and Pakistani governments" who can engage in sports and dialogue but "fail to hear the pain of the people of Jammu and Kashmir". His Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) spokesperson, Inam Un Nabi, stated that Rashid has communicated his decision to the Director General of Prisons in New Delhi, describing the strike as a symbolic protest.

Rashid's action also criticizes Pakistan, stating that the country previously dismissed Kashmiri voices but now its leaders are "begging for handshakes with Indian cricketers who dedicated their victory to Operation Sindoor".

Engineer Rashid has been incarcerated in Tihar Jail since August 9, 2019, after being arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a terror funding case, four days after Article 370 was revoked. Despite his imprisonment, he achieved a significant political victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, winning the Baramulla seat by a large margin, defeating Omar Abdullah.

The Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) was founded in 2013 by Sheikh Abdul Rashid. The AIP was established as an alternative to mainstream political parties in Jammu and Kashmir, such as the National Conference (NC) and the People's Democratic Party (PDP), as well as separatist factions.

Despite being jailed, Rashid remains politically active. In the 2024 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election, the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) formed an alliance with former members of Jamaat-e-Islami. Even from jail, he hopes his protest will push for real respect for Kashmiris’s rights and more honest discussion about their issues.

This is not the first time Rashid has used a hunger strike to protest his situation or the situation in Kashmir. In June 2025, he observed a 24-hour hunger strike to protest the "continued denial of democratic rights to Kashmiris". In February 2025, he ended an 11-day hunger strike after the Delhi High Court granted him two-day custody parole.

His ongoing detention and trial have faced scrutiny, with the Delhi High Court reserving its order on his plea for modification of the order asking him to deposit around ₹4 lakh towards expenses to travel to Parliament while in custody. The NIA has accused Rashid of funding separatists and terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir.