Conflict

Moulvi Yousuf Shah death anniversary: Govt detains resistance leadership ahead of joint program

Srinagar: The PDP-BJP government detained Hurriyat Conference (M) chief, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and JKLF chief, Muhammad Yasin Malik, ahead of a joint resistance program scheduled in Srinagar on Tuesday.

Speaking to the FreePressKashmir, Hurriyat Conference (M) media advisor, Shahid ul Islam, said, “Mirwaiz Umar and myself were put under house detention last late night.”

He said that a joint program was called today in memory of late Moulana Muhammad Yousuf Shah.

The joint resistance leadership was scheduled to reach and address the faithful in historic Aali Masjid near Eidgah in summer capital.

Hurriyat patriarch Syed Ali Geelani is under continuous house detention at Hyderpora. His top party leaders are either detained in various jails across J&K or are under police radar.

Recently, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), raided houses of several Hurriyat Conference (G) leaders.

Its influential member, Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Altaf Fantosh, was summoned Delhi where he was grilled by the NIA sleuths.

A spokesperson of JKLF said that Malik was sitting at party headquarters in Abi Guzar, metres away from Press Colony when a police party arrested him.

“Malik has been detained in Kothibagh police station,” he said.

Moulvi Muhammad Yousuf Shah

People of Kashmir across the Line of Control (LoC) today are observing death anniversary of Molvi Muhammad Yousuf Shah who left for heavenly abode on 12th December 1968.

He was twelfth Mirwaiz (chief cleric) of undivided Kashmir.

In accordance with Islamic lunar calendar, his death anniversary is commemorated on 17th month of Ramzan every year.

Legendary Shah led the fight against the then autocratic rule and translated the holy Qur’an into the Kashmiri language during Dogra regime.

He was later exiled to Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK).

Born on 13 March 1892, he is son of Mirwaiz Ghulam Rasool Shah who served the cause of Muslims in Kashmir to liberate them from the pit of ignorance and backwardness.

Shah along with his close aide Moulana Meerak Shah, took admission in Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband where he had an opportunity to live in close proximity with the great Kashmiri scholar Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmiri.

After completing Dars-e-Nizami course, Shah left for Lahore wherein he obtained Moulvi Fazil degree from the University of the Punjab.

During the course of time, Mirwaiz Moulana Ahmadullah passed away on April 3, 1931, and his brother Moulvi Attiqullah was not physically fit to take the reins as the Mirwaiz and therefore, Moulvi Muhammad Yousuf Shah was formally declared as Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir.

Mirwaiz led Kashmiri Muslims’ fight against the Dogras and was declared head of seven member delegates who were nominated as envoys by the Kashmiri Muslims during a huge public gathering at Khanqah-e-Moula to hold negotiations with Dogra rule regarding the rights of Kashmiri people.

Besides Mirwaiz, the other prominent members of the delegation were Mirwaiz Hamdani, Shahab-u-Din, Ghulam Ahmad Ashai and Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah.

After the partition, Shah was exiled to PaK where he became a part of administrative set-up.

He is the first education minister of PaK, later he served two terms as President in 1952 and 1956.

On September 06, 1947, Mirwaiz left for Lahore to meet Muhammad Ali Jinnah to apprise him of the worsening political situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir.

After having a detailed discussion with Jinnah, Mirwaiz was about to return home when tyrant Maharaja banned his re-entry in the state.

This forced exile, led the Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir to live rest of his life in Pakistan, unlike millions of expatriate Kashmiris and earned him the title Muhajir-e-Millat.

In 1964, Mirwaiz led delegation which visited some twenty two European and Islamic countries, wherein he briefed the EU member countries and the heads of Muslim states about the genesis of Kashmir conflict and the historical struggle of the people of Jammu & Kashmir.

In 1965, when Revolutionary Council was established in this part of Kashmir, the Council nominated him as the spokesperson in Pakistan.

Son of soil, Mirwaiz Moulvi Yousuf Shah passed away on 12th December 1968 in Rawalpindi.

He was buried at Upper Adda graveyard, opposite to the University Campus in Muzaffarabad, the capital city of PaK.

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