Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to appear before Parliamentary panel on Waqf Bill today

Besides the Mirwaiz, the committee is also scheduled to hear the views of the Lawyers for Justice group today.

New Delhi: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the religious head of Kashmir, will appear before the parliamentary panel on Waqf Amendment Bill on Friday to convey his reservations about the draft legislation.

The Joint Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, chaired by BJP leader Jagdambika Pal, also put off its deliberations on clause-by-clause consideration of the draft legislation to next week following reservations expressed by the Opposition leaders.

The committee will now consider the bill in detail on Monday.

Besides the Mirwaiz, the committee is also scheduled to hear the views of the Lawyers for Justice group on Friday.

The revised schedule of the Committee was circulated late Thursday night. Earlier, the Mirwaiz was slated to meet Pal at his residence.

On Wednesday, a brief statement issued by Muttahida Majlis-E-Ulema (MMU), headed by the Mirwaiz, said the delegation would convey strong reservations on certain provisions of the bill that stands to have far-reaching implications for the management and autonomy of Waqf properties and the welfare of the Muslims, especially the underprivileged.

This is for the first time the Mirwaiz, who also heads the virtually defunct separatist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference, has stepped out of the Kashmir valley post abrogation of the special status of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.