Srinagar:Kashmiri separatist leader and Chairman of his faction of the Hurriyat, Mirwaz Umar Farooq, who has been largely house arrested since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, has again been put under house detention on his recent return from New Delhi, the Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid said on Friday. The alleged house detention of the separatist leader comes ahead of the Friday congregational prayers at the Jamia where he was to deliver the sermon.
Mirwaz was to deliver a special sermon on Friday on the occasion of Shab-e-Meraj at the Jama Masjid, as announced by the Anjuman Auqaf. A large gathering of people was expected at the mosque to hear Mirwaiz's sermon and participate in the blessed congregation. But early in the morning a contingent of police vehicles was stationed outside his residence and he was eventually detained, the Anjuman said.
Reacting to the detention, the Anjuman said it vehemently denounced the repeated house arrest of Mirwaiz especially on Friday depriving him of visiting the Jamia Masjid to deliver the Friday sermon and participate in the mandatory Friday prayers. It is also pertinent to mention that since his release from house arrest in September last year, Mirwaiz has been allowed to deliver Friday sermons only on three occasions.
In early January this year, the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, which manages the mosque affairs, had said that Mirwaiz had embarked on a “personal visit” to Delhi after the authorities had allowed him to visit the national capital. Anjuman said that despite his release from house detention in September 2023, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is repeatedly detained at his house especially on Fridays.
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