New Delhi: Authorities have reportedly put Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest on Friday (April 5) while the congregational Jumat-ul-Vida prayers, which are held on the last Friday of the ongoing month of Ramzan, were disallowed at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar city of Jammu and Kashmir.
Witnesses said that the mosque was closed for worshippers while authorities prevented the mosque’s managing body from making preparations for Jumat-ul-Vida prayers on Friday morning.
Security personnel also stopped media persons from entering Mirwaiz’s residence in Nigeen locality of Srinagar after he called a press conference on Friday morning purportedly to talk about the new curbs imposed on him.
A spokesperson of Anjuman-e-Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the managing body of the historic mosque located in Nowhatta locality of downtown Srinagar, said that the authorities locked the main gates at 6 am on Friday, soon after the morning prayer session was over.
“They put padlocks on the gates of the mosque and told us that Friday prayers will not be allowed. They didn’t give any reason in writing,” said the Anjuman-e-Auqaf spokesperson.
Jumat-ul-Vida is the last Friday of the sacred Islamic month of Ramzan and thousands were anticipated to participate in the congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid where Mirwaiz was scheduled to deliver his first sermon on this occasion following the reading down of Article 370.
However, an aide of Mirwaiz said that the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was also put under house arrest on Friday morning and no one was allowed to come in or go out of the residence. “He was not allowed to address the press conference. They didn’t give any reason in writing,” the aide said.
A group of media-persons, who had arrived at Mirwaiz’s residence to cover the press conference, said that they were turned away from the main gate by the security personnel.
“We tried to reason with them that we had to attend the press conference. However, they didn’t allow us to enter. We didn’t had many options but to come back,” said a Srinagar-based journalist, who didn’t want to be named.
Authorities put padlocks on the gates of Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid on Friday to prevent Jumat-Ul-Vida prayers. Photo: Ubaid Mukhtar
In a statement, Mirwaiz termed his detention “extremely sad and unfortunate”, adding that it has caused “great distress, anguish and pain” to people. “We the people of Jammu Kashmir protest this authoritarianism and direct violation of our religious rights,” he said.
“Each Friday is a day of uncertainty and anxiety for me as I do not know if I will be allowed to go to Jama Masjid or not depending on the will of the authorities. A few hours before noon I am conveyed what that decision is and if I can go to Jama Masjid or not. This is the most arbitrary and authoritarian way to function and is highly regrettable,” Mirwaiz said in the statement.
The development comes days after Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, was allowed to offer Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid for the first time during Ramzan post Article 370 last month and fourth time since his release in September last year, according to the Anjuman.
In his sermon, Mirwaiz had called for unity and demanded the “release of political prisoners and youth languishing in different jails” of the country.
Last month, the administration told the Jammu and Kashmir high court that the moderate Hurriyat leader was facing a “perceived threat” from terrorists due to which he was verbally “asked to limit and restrict his movement” after Article 370 was read down.
The submission came after Mirwaiz approached the court to challenge his “illegal detention” after Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded and bifurcated into two union territories on August 5, 2019.
In a habeas corpus petition, Mirwaiz told the court that curbs were imposed on him by the administration and he was not allowed to come out of his home and perform his social and religious duties as he was ‘illegally’ detained at his Srinagar residence.
However, the administration cited over two dozen instances, including a recent visit to New Delhi, when Mirwaiz was reportedly allowed to attend social and religious functions and also to medical emergencies.
