Eid prayers not allowed at Eidgah ground, Jama Masjid in Srinagar; Mirwaiz alleges house arrest

Srinagar: Authorities on Saturday barred Eid prayers from taking place at the Eidgah ground and the Jama Masjid in the old city here, while Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq claimed that he was put under house arrest.

"Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid Srinagar deeply regrets to inform that the authorities have once again disallowed Eid-ul-Adha prayers at the Eidgah as well as at the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar by closing the gates of the mosque and deploying police personnel outside," the management of the historic mosque said in a statement.

It said the authorities did not even permit the pre-dawn (Fajr) prayers.

In a post on X, Miwaiz strongly condemned the move.

"Eid Mubarak! Yet again, Kashmir wakes up to the sad reality: no Eid prayers at Eidgah, and Jama Masjid locked down for the 7th straight year. I, too, have been detained at my home.

"In a Muslim-majority region, Muslims are deprived of their fundamental right to pray -- even on their most important religious occasion celebrated across the world!" he said.

"What a shame on those who rule over us, and on those elected by the people who choose to remain silent as our rights are trampled over, again and again," Mirwaiz said on X.