Even as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah slammed the decision to close Srinagar’s Jama Masjid preventing prayers on the occasion of Shab-e-Baraat, the J&K police allegedly placed Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest on both Thursday and Friday, stopping him from leading congregational prayers at the historic mosque.
The J&K police remain under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory.
“It’s condemnable that again and again on Fridays, I am disallowed from going to Jama Masjid. Yesterday [on Thursday], on the auspicious occasion of Shab-e-Baraat, not only was I put under house arrest but even Jama Masjid was forcibly locked down and people prevented from gathering,” the Mirwaiz said in a statement.
‘Hurts sentiments’
The closure of the Jama Masjid, “which holds a special significance in the lives of Muslims of the valley, causes great pain and hurts the sentiments of the entire population,” the Hurriyat chairman said. “To do so in the name of maintaining law and order is ridiculous, especially when tall claims of normalcy are made,” he added.
He vowed to keep advocating for a peaceful resolution of the issue through talks from the pulpit. “As for me, a huge cordon of security bandobast has been put around me and I am informed that there is a great threat to my life. My movement is subject to the approval of authorities. I want to ask the rulers that now that they have provided me with so much protection, why am I not allowed to go to Jama Masjid?” he asked.
The Mirwaiz asked the authorities “to stop this infringement on my personal freedom and liberties… I also ask them to desist from locking down Jama Masjid, the religious and spiritual centre for the people of J&K.”
‘Lack of confidence’
His comments came a day after the CM condemned the move to shut the mosque. “It is very unfortunate that the security establishment has taken the decision to seal the historic Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, on one of the holiest nights in the Islamic calendar – Shab-e-Baraat. This decision betrays a lack of confidence in the people and a lack of confidence in the law and order machinery that calm won’t prevail without extreme measures. The people of Srinagar deserved better,” Mr. Abdullah said in a post on X on Thursday night.
Other regional parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, also condemned the move to close the mosque and bar the Mirwaiz from leading prayers.
