Waheed Para

Waheed ur Rehman Para is an Indian politician of Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party currently serving as its Youth Wing President. He has also served as the Secretary Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Born and raised in Naira village of South Kashmir's Pulwama district. He joined the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party in 2013 as was subsequently appointed at its youth wing president. In the following years, he served as the political analyst to then J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 2015 and as secretary J&K Sports Council till 2018.

Para contested the 2024 Indian general election from the Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency as a candidate from the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party      while securing 1 lakh 68 thousand votes.

He was arrested by National Investigation Agency on 25 November 2020 for alleged terror links, however was again rearrested by J&K Police after receiving bail from Special NIA Court. He was released on bail by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in May 2022,  and was selected as the inaugural Yale Peace Fellow at Yale University’s International Leadership Center.

Waheed has been an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) fellow, and was amongst a couple of politicians invited by the U.S Government from India for the program. Para had also been invited for the Australia-India Youth Dialogue (AIYD) 2019, which is a track-two young leaders’ dialogue held every alternate year, but owing to his detention following 5th August 2019 was not alllowed to attend the coference

Political career
Waheed entered politics in 2013 and was subsequently appointed as the Youth Wing President of Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party.

He served as the Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir State Sports Council from July 2016 to 2018. Waheed took part in 2015 UNCCC, held in Paris, as a special representative from the state of J&K In 2018. He had also survived an attack on life after terrorists fired at his vehicle in Central Kashmir's Budgam district

Followig arrest by the National Investigation Agency, he won the DDC Elections, 2020 from Pulwama constituency while being under custody. After remaining incarcerated at Srinagar's central jail for over 17 months, he was released after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court granted him bail and observed "The evidence as is gathered by the prosecution is too sketchy to be believed prima facie true, that too, with a view to deny bail to the appellant."

Para contested the 2024 Indian general election from the Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency as a candidate from the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party      while securing 1 lakh 68 thousand votes.