Kashmir separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's 'personal visit' to Delhi raises eyebrows

The surprise visit of the leading J&K separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has been leading the Friday prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar has raised quite a few eyebrows. However, the Anjuman Auqaf, which manages the mosque said the visit was "personal".

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who has been largely under house detention since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, visited New Delhi on Monday causing a major stir in the political quarters. The Anjuman Auqaf at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar downtown has called it a “personal” visit of the leading Kashmiri religious cleric.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid said that its president Mirwaz e Kashmir Mohammad Umar Farooq, was “allowed by the state authorities to travel to New Delhi” on Monday. “Mirwaiz had conveyed the personal nature of his visit after which the authorities allowed him,” the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid said.

“It is pertinent to mention here that despite his release from house detention in September 2023, he is repeatedly detained at his house especially on Fridays,” the Anjuman Auqaf added. It said that Mirwaiz will be back in a couple of weeks. It is pertinent to mention that Mirwaiz was on Friday, Jan 5 barred from leading the Friday congregational prayers at the Jamia Masjid Srinagar for the 13th week in a row.

The Anjuman Auqaf had slammed the authorities for the continuous house detention of the Mirwaiz Kashmir. It can be recalled that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led the Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid on Sept 22 last year after over four years of house detention since the abrogation of Article 370 on Aug 5, 2019 by the BJP government at the Centre.

Following the abrogation of Article 370, which gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the erstwhile state was bifurcated into the union territories of J&K and Ladakh.