Srinagar: Mirwaiz of Kashmir, Umar Farooq, has strongly condemned being barred from attending prayers at Srinagar’s historic Jama Masjid for the second consecutive Friday, calling his house arrest a reflection of the authorities’ discomfort with his public advocacy.
In a statement, Mirwaiz said, “As I raise people’s issues and concerns from the pulpit as is my duty, it seems to make the authorities jittery and uncomfortable. So, lock him up! As if by locking me up, issues will disappear, and reality will be altered.”
He criticised what he described as an “authoritarian mindset” driving these actions, asserting that suppressing voices will not change the ground realities in Kashmir.
