Hurriyat chief condemns repeated house arrest on Fridays

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said repeatedly putting him under house arrest on Fridays was an infringement on his personal freedom and closing down the Jama Masjid hurts the sentiments of the people of the Valley.

To do so in the name of maintaining law and order is "ridiculous", especially when the government is making "tall claims of normalcy", Farooq said.

The Mirwaiz asked why he was not being allowed to move even when he was provided such heavy security cover. Farooq was placed under house arrest on Thursday, hours ahead of Shab-e-Baraat prayers were to begin.

"It's condemnable that again and again on Fridays I am disallowed from going to Jama Masjid. Yesterday 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 were prevented from gathering.

"Today also I was not allowed to go to Jama Masjid. I have always as the Mirwaiz, which entails religious and political responsibilities, tried to the best of my ability to deliver them, and advocated for peaceful means of resolution of the issue through talks, which inshallah I will continue to pursue," he said in a statement.

Jama Masjid holds a special significance in the lives of Muslims of the Kashmir Valley and closing it down causes them great pain and hurts the sentiments of the entire population, he said.

"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," he added.

"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?" Are people who are given such security put under house arrest, he asked. "I do not know what to make of these strange contradictions," he said.

Farooq asked authorities to stop this "infringement on personal freedom and liberties" and not prevent him from going to Jama Masjid on Fridays.

"It's very painful for me and the thousands of people who come there to hear the sermon and for all Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir. I also ask them to desist from locking down Jama Masjid, the religious and spiritual centre for the people of J&K," he added.