SRINAGAR: Hurriyat Conference leader and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said he would not be able to deliver Friday sermon as he is under house detention at his Nageen residence in Srinagar. He posted on X that arbitrary and authoritarian measures to curtail freedom betray the narrative of 'normalcy'.
“My house detention continues unabated for the past week with police deployment and barricades in place. Unfortunate that will not be able to deliver the Friday sermon at Jama Masjid Srinagar to the faithful, today," Mirwaiz said in a post on X.
"Arbitrary and authoritarian measures to curtail freedom of movement and speech, only betray the official narrative of 'Normalcy' in Kashmir,” the cleric wrote.
He also shared a video of the deployment of a contingent of police and paramilitary personnel outside his residence.
Mirwaiz gives Friday sermons at the historic Jamia Masjid in downtown every week. He was among the religious leaders to oppose the proposal of uniform Friday sermons floated by J&K Waqf Board chairperson Dr Darakhan Andrabi, who is a BJP leader.
In his last Friday sermon at Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz had welcomed the decline in violence in Jammu and Kashmir and stressed that justice and compassion cannot be separated from the pursuit of peace and called for the release of political prisoners and meaningful political engagement.
Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest on November 1 and barred from giving a religious sermon at Masjid Mehboob-ul-Alam (RA), Zoonimar in Srinagar.
“Being punished for quoting the recently published International Crisis Group report on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, at Jama Masjid on Friday. Apparently, stating uncomfortable facts and endorsing recommendations, out of concern for the future of my people and genuine peace in J&K and the region, is not acceptable to the ruling regime. So be it,” Mirwaiz had said.
After his release from over five years of house detention following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Mirwaiz has confined his activities to delivering Friday sermons at Jamia Masjid, solemnising nikah khwani ceremonies of couples and inaugurating new business showrooms, and occasionally giving political statements.
