The Jammu and Kashmir Police has considered restoration of security cover for Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq days after his engagement with the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 and his outreach to migrant Kashmiri Pandits in New Delhi.
Official sources said the recent two-week visit of the Hurriyat chairman and Kashmir’s chief cleric to Delhi evoked sharp reactions from “different quarters”. Sources said the police assessedthe online threats made to the Mirwaiz after his Delhi tour, especially his engagement with Kashmiri Pandits.
The security review of the Mirwaiz is underway, sources said. Given the threat perception, the security cover, which was withdrawn from the Mirwaiz in 2019, may be restored soon.
For the first time since the Centre ended J&K’s special status in 2019, the Mirwaiz was allowed to travel to Delhi and share his objections as a religious head with the JPC on Waqf Bill on January 24.
During his Delhi visit, the Mirwaiz submitted a six-point memorandum to the JPC and pointed out “serious concerns of Muslims”. The Mirwaiz termed several provisions of the Bill as having “far-reaching implications for the management and autonomy of Waqf properties and the welfare of Muslim communities, especially the underprivileged”.
The Mirwaiz also met a number of religious leaders, including Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind president Maulana Mehmood Madni, Delhi Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmad Bukhari, Ameer of the Tablighi Jamaat Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, and Mufti Mukarram Ahmed of the Fatehpuri Masjid.
He also reached out to Kashmir Pandits who left the Valley in the 1990s. He also proposed an Inter-Community Committee to bridge the gap and ensure safe return of Pandits to Kashmir.
In the past, the Mirwaiz engaged with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2004 on the Kashmir issue. The Mirwaiz had then faced criticism from many separatist leaders for engaging with New Delhi. However, the latest visit of the Mirwaiz failed to break the ice on the Srinagar-Delhi dialogue process on the Kashmir issue.
