Put under house arrest, prevented from offering Friday prayers: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday said he was put under house arrest and not allowed to offer the congregational prayers at the Jamia Masjid here.

The Hurriyat chief was scheduled to visit the Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta locality of the city to offer the congregational Friday prayers. But, he claimed, he was not allowed to come out of his residence in the Nigeen area of the city.

Mirwaiz, who is Kashmir's chief cleric, delivers a sermon at the historic mosque on Fridays.

"Yet again, this Friday put under house arrest and barred from offering prayers at Jama Masjid. It's is both heartbreaking and outrageous that authorities continue to trample on my basic religious rights at their will," the Mirwaiz said in a post on X.

He also posted a copy of a resolution formulated by the Mutahida Majlis Ulema (MMU) -- an amalgam of several religious bodies -- against the Waqf Amendment Act.

"Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulama Jammu & Kashmir, expresses its concern regarding several provisions of the new law, which are being widely viewed by the Muslim community as affecting the established and religious character of the Waqf institution in India," the resolution reads.