Srinagar: Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq today alleged that he has been placed under house arrest by authorities ahead of the religious sitting at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid in old Srinagar.
Mirwaiz said that several top religious scholars were scheduled to participate in the religious gathering, but he was barred from moving out.
He accused the authorities of “relentless interference” in religious matters in Kashmir.
“Our human and political rights already stand denied, and then there is this relentless interference in our religious matters from locking us up to silencing our voice on issues ranging from the Ashoka plaque at Hazratbal to meddling with Muslim calendar holidays, to disallowing religious functions at masjids,” Mirwaiz said on X.
He asserted that the pulpit of Jamia Masjid will, however, continue to raise its voice “on matters of religious interference or blatant violation of people’s rights and their disempowerment.”
The J&K police and the Lieutenant Governor administration did not respond to the allegations of Mirwaiz.
Meanwhile, the administration has put in place tight security at the Hazratbal shrine as tens of thousands of people are expected to join Friday prayers, marking the culmination of a week-long festival celebrating Prophet Mohammad’s birthday.
Last Friday, the emblem was vandalised by devotees at the shrine, prompting police to register a case and question several devotees.
