New Delhi: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was stopped by police from leaving his residence in Srinagar on Friday, August 26, to offer prayers at historic Jamia Masjid in the city, days after lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha had said that he was not under house arrest.
The denying of permission to Mirwaiz to step out of his home comes a day after Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid (AAJM), the managing body of the 14th-century Jamia Masjid in Srinagar’s Nowhatta locality, had issued a statement saying that all preparations had been made to facilitate Kashmir’s chief cleric to deliver the khutba (sermon) and also lead the congregational prayers after nearly three years.
However, on Friday morning, as soon as Mirwaiz’s vehicle reached the main gate of his residence, two police officers stopped it, telling him not to venture out.
“The LG has announced that I am a free man… I am going to Jamia Masjid to discharge my religious duties as Mirwaiz. Why am I being stopped?” he asked the police officers.
One of the officers responded that a security review was going on due to which he would not be allowed to leave.
The Mirwaiz said his rights as a citizen were being forfeited despite the LG making a clear statement that there were no curbs placed on his movement.
Also read: Kashmir: After 3 Years, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Likely to Lead Friday Prayers at Jamia Masjid
Stepping out of the car, the Mirwaiz tried to walk out through the main gate but was stopped by police personnel accompanying the two officers.
“Please give me something in writing about why I am being stopped. The Union home minister has said on the floor of Parliament that no one in Kashmir is under house arrest. The LG has made statements to international media on the same lines but you are here to stop me,” he said.
The Mirwaiz sought to know if the government was not claiming that everything in Kashmir had returned to normalcy and people were happy. “I want to join my people in their happiness. Why are you stopping me?” he asked before being turned back to his residence.
Expecting him to deliver the Friday sermon on August 26, the managing body of Jamia Masjid on Thursday, August 25, had said, “For the last three years, the pulpit of Jama Masjid has fallen silent due to Mirwaiz sahab’s house arrest. Despite repeated appeals from all sections for his release, he was forcibly detained at home, causing grief to people (who are)….eagerly awaiting his release and looking forward to seeing and hearing him.”
Meanwhile, the LG in an interview to BBC last week denied that the Mirwaiz was under house arrest. “He is neither arrested nor detained. He must decide what he wants to do,” Manoj Sinha had told BBC Hindi.
The J&K administration too had claimed that Mirwaiz was a “free man” and the security forces deployed at his residence were “meant for his protection”.
Sinha had also referred in the interview to the killing of Mirwaiz’s father on May 21, 1990 and the lynching of a middle-rung undercover police officer, Ayub Pandith, by a mob outside the shrine on June 23, 2017 to underscore the security concerns of the administration in allowing the Mirwaiz to move freely.
However, contrary to Sinha and the administration’s claims, the Srinagar residence of the Hurriyat leader continues to remain out of bounds for journalists, religious bodies and commoners who come to seek the counsel of Mirwaiz as Kashmir’s chief cleric on religious matters.
(With PTI inputs)