Team Clarion
SRINAGAR — Kashmir’s chief Maulvi and Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was not allowed to leave his home to deliver Friday sermon at Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, only a week after J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha suggested “he was a free man”.
J&K L-G Manoj Sinha in an interview with the BBC in Srinagar on August 19 said, “The Mirwaiz was not detained. In the past, his father was assassinated, unfortunately. We keep security around his house to protect him. He needs to decide what he wants to do. He is neither under house arrested nor detained.”
Mirwaiz Manzil tweeted that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been barred from leaving his residence by a posse of Indian Forces. He was on his way to deliver the Friday sermon at the Jamia Masjid today, just a week after Governor Sinha said he was ‘free.’
Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid in a statement yesterday had said that it is hopeful that it’s president and Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Maulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq who has been under house will be allowed to offer prayers at historical Jamia Masjid Srinagar.
Following L-G’s statement, the Mirwaiz had announced that he will deliver a Friday sermon, which would have been his first since the Centre abrogated the special provisions of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, reports The Hindu.
“The administration’s move has saddened me deeply. I also feel sad for those worshippers who had arrived at the Jamia Masjid to hear me,” the Mirwaiz said speaking to The Hindu. In an interview on Thursday, the Mirwaiz had said he wanted to meet people and listen to them if he was set free.
