Srinagar: The chief Muslim pastor of Kashmir and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the president of his separatist Hriat faction, were again banned from relocation to Jama Masjid in Srinagar for preaching and offering Friday prayers.
An assistant told reporters that a police contingent arrived at the residence of Mirwaiz in the Nijen area of Srinagar in the morning and informed his private staff that he could not leave the place. Authorities have listed security issues that restrict the Mirwaz movement.
Mirwaiz said in an article on “X”: “Every Friday, I’m arrested by any House! Put pressure and don’t speak out, the ban is also designed to undermine the centrality of the Muslim institution in the Mirwaiz Valley, the office of the Mirwaiz, and cause collective grief to Muslims and all these authority and all these authority.
He added: “My house detention case is still in court and I am seeking relief from the Honbur High Court, but at this time, patience remains our only strength.”
Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid strongly condemned his chairman’s “home detention” and said the move was part of the authorities’ persistent attempt to silence religious leadership and undermine the centrality of historic places of worship. “Anjuman expressed deep and strong condemnation of Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir’s ongoing and arbitrary house detention, Dr. Molvie Molvie Molvie Mohammed Umar Farouk, for the fourth consecutive Friday today, preventing him from showing the historic and public duty of the historic Jama Masjid Srinagar in this statement.”
The statement added: “The repeated restrictions imposed on Mirwaiz are unjust, and seem to be intended not only to silence his voice on important issues of Muslims, but also to weaken the core religious institutions of the valley, most notably Jama Masjid. These actions have caused great harm and pain to these actions, both valuable and valuable for the free and religious lords of Jamir and kashmir and kashmir and religion and all valuable attitudes.
Anjuman urges civil society groups, human rights institutions and “individuals seeking justice” to raise voices about this “continuous injustice”.
Related to this, the Union Home Ministry announced on March 11 that the J&K Awami (People) Action Committee (AAC) and J&K Ittihad-ul-Muslimeen (IUM) led by Mirwaz were led by Shia Cleric and politician Moulvi Masroor Abbas Ansari and (unanimous) in the actions of the “non-law firm” (Bevera) in 1967, which lasted for five years in their pleas, they participated in activities that threatened India’s sovereignty, integrity and security.
The groups are also accused of spreading anti-Indian narratives, mobilizing funds for separatist movements, and inciting violence in J&K. Since February 2019, the Center has banned more than a dozen separatist activists and parties and groups under the J&K announcement of UAPA.
However, Mirwaiz challenged the MHA’s allegations and said his organization believed in total nonviolent resistance and sought a solution to the Kashmir conflict through dialogue and deliberation.
AAC and IUM are both some mass components of the Separatist Hurriyat Conference, which is also led by Mirwaiz. Over the past few weeks, about a dozen small voters have withdrawn from the amalgam and promised loyalty to India and its constitution. Home Secretary Amit Shah called the development a “victory” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “vision” and claimed separatism has become Kashmir’s history.
