Recently, a Delhi court instructed the NIA to provide a response by the following day to Engineer Rashid's plea. Rashid, who was arrested in connection with a 2016 Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case, has applied for interim bail. He seeks this temporary relief to be able to take his oath as an MP, following the conclusion of the recent general elections.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, former J&K MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid, commonly known as Engineer Rashid, secured victory by defeating former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

On June 4, he petitioned the court for interim bail or, alternatively, custody parole to fulfill his parliamentary duties by taking an oath.

Additional Sessions Judge Chander Jit Singh oversaw the filing of this application, instructing the NIA to submit its response by today.

Nevertheless, on Thursday, the agency requested additional time to prepare its response. Rashid has been incarcerated since 2019 after facing charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the NIA in connection with the alleged terror funding case. He is currently detained in Tihar jail.

The former MLA’s name cropped up during the investigation of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, whom the NIA had arrested for allegedly funding terrorist groups and separatists in the Valley.

The NIA had filed a charge sheet against several individuals, including Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, in the case.

Malik was awarded life imprisonment by a trial court in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to the charges