Engineer Rashid

Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, is a Kashmiri politician and Member of Parliament (MP) from Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, India, currently under arrest for advocating Kashmiri separatism. Earlier he was Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Jammu and Kashmir, from the Langate constituency in Handwara. Rasheed is the founder and patron of the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Ittehad Party.

Early life
Rashid was born c. 1967 in his hometown Langate. He got involved with Kashmiri secessionist politics as a teenager, and joined the Abdul Ghani Lone-led People's Conference in 1978. In 1987, the People's Conference was a leading member of the Muslim United Front which fought the 1987 election on an Islamist agenda. The election saw widespread rigging, and is mentioned as a prime factor in the rise of Kashmir insurgency two years later.

Rashid obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1988, and a diploma in civil engineering two years later. He worked for over a decade as an engineer in the state government-run Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation. He is seen a simple man, dressed in Khan suit, taking public transportation and occasionally hitching rides on motor cycles.

Political career
Rashid transitioned from a career in construction engineering to politics in 2008, winning the Langate constituency as an independent candidate in both the 2008 and 2014 legislative assembly elections. Rashid subsequently established the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Ittehad Party. Despite facing imprisonment on terror-funding charges, he secured a significant victory over former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, underscoring his substantial grassroots support and political influence in the region. Rashid defeated former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir Omar Abdullah in 2024 lok sabha election from Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency.

Arrest
In the year 2005, Rashid was arrested by SOG in Srinagar for supporting militants and subsequently jailed for three months and 17 days. A charge of anti-national activities was slapped on him. He was kept in Cargo, Humhama and Raj bagh prisons. Later Chief Judaical Magistrate Srinagar dropped all charges against him on humanitarian grounds. According to Rashid he was arrested by motley group of counter-insurgents that worked closely with the State police and took him to an interrogation centre, where he was "interrogated." After five months of custody, he negotiated his release, paying up Rs. 1.14 lakhs. In Aug 2019, he was arrested under UAPA case. He filed his nomination form for contesting 2024 parliamentary election from jail and won by the margin of 2 lac 4 thousand by defeating former Chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah.

Attacks
On 8 October 2015 Engineer Rashid was assaulted by BJP MLA's inside the Jammu and Kashmir assembly for hosting a party where he served beef on the lawns of the government circuit with a view to oppose the controversial central Government order banning the consumption of beef in India.

He was also attacked with black ink in Press Club New Delhi by BJP cadets a day after his critical comments regarding the lynching of a Kashmiri truck driver in Udhampur.