All parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday that he was stopped from leaving his residence to lead a congregational prayer at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid.
In a post on X, Jamia Masjid chief and Kashmir’s 14th Mirwaiz asked if the bans are “related to the 32nd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition today and the wave of mosque and shrine surveys that we have raised. Voice against?”
“It’s anyone’s guess,” he said.
Last week, the Hurriyat chairman expressed concern over a notice issued by a Rajasthan court to the central government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to prosecute the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, the famous Sufi shrine of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. In the case, it is claimed that the temple was originally a Shiva temple.
Meanwhile, the Grand Mosque’s Anjuman Auqaf has condemned the house arrest of its chief and Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Farooq. In a statement it issued, the Anjuman said that when Mirwaiz was preparing to go to the historic Jamia Masjid Srinagar as per his usual schedule, the authorities informed him that he was under house arrest and would not be allowed to visit the mosque.
In its statement, Anjuman Auqaf termed Mirwaiz’s arrest as “unfair, highly regrettable and a violation of his religious freedom”.
“This action amounts to interference in religious affairs,” it said, adding that such a move has once again caused “frustration” among devotees and worshipers who came from across the Valley to offer Friday prayers at Jama Masjid Srinagar.