Tag: Mirwaiz

Not Against Idea of Elections in J&K, Says Mirwaiz, But its Linkage With Resolution of Kashmir Issue

Mirwaiz said that this time around the Hurriyat hasn’t issued a boycott call against the election, as it did in the past, because of “serious alterations in the ground situation” following the reading down of Article 370.

New Delhi: In his first remarks on the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that the Hurriyat was “not against the idea of elections” in Jammu and Kashmir but linking it to the resolution of the Kashmir issue.

Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, said that this time around the Hurriyat hasn’t issued a boycott call against the election, as it did in the past, because of “serious alterations in the ground situation” following the reading down of Article 370 by the BJP-led Union government in 2019.

“Under these changed circumstances, issuing a boycott call, unlike before 2019, does not seem to carry the sense and effect that it did before. Besides, the people of J&K, baptised by fire from decades old conflict, have gained enough political maturity and wisdom to know what best to do in the current situation,” he said.

The moderate Hurriyat leader, who was again put under house arrest on Friday, May 3, and prevented from delivering the sermon at the historic Jamia Masjid, made these remarks in an interview with Reuters.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid, the managing body of the shrine in downtown Srinagar’s Nowhatta locality, said in a statement that Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest on Friday morning. An aide of Mirwaiz’s said that additional forces were deployed outside his Nigeen residence in Srinagar.

“Anjum expressed deep dismay at the repeated house detention of Mirwaiz especially on the important occasion of Friday, when thousands of people from the valley are gathered at the historic Jama Masjid Srinagar to listen to his enlightening Friday sermon,” the statement said.

Responding to a question on the ongoing Lok Sabha election, Mirwaiz said that many constituents of the Hurriyat, including the banned Jamaat-e-Islami and Sajad Lone’s Peoples Conference, participated in elections in Jammu and Kashmir before the armed insurgency broke out in the early 1990s.

“The Hurriyat was formed in 1993 .. (as) a political initiative, by political forces who believed in and supported a political resolution of this long standing issue on the democratic principle of respect for the aspirations and will of the people of J&K with regard to the conflict by both India and Pakistan,” he said.

Mirwaiz continued: “Our reservation was or is not to the idea of elections per se, but linking it to being a means of asserting people’s will in the context of the Kashmir conflict,” he said, adding that India and Pakistan “took the Kashmir issue to international fora”.

“The two neighbours have … fought three-and-a-half wars, signed bilateral agreements and yet the final settlement (of Kashmir) has eluded,” he said, adding that the reading down of Article 370 has “disempowered the people” of Jammu and Kashmir by making “drastic unilateral changes that (have) complicated the dynamics of the larger issue (of Kashmir).”

The Hurriyat was born in 1991 out of the political and security turmoil that broke out in Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the rigging of the 1987 assembly election and the assassination of Mirwaiz’s father, Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, on May 21, 1990. Over the last more than three decades, it has suffered at least two splits and several defections.

As the Centre moved to read down Article 370 in 2019 which downgraded the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, several constituent member parties of the Hurriyat Conference such as Jamaat-e-Islami, Peoples League and Jammu Kashmir National Front were banned under anti-terror laws.

The ongoing Lok Sabha election is the first major democratic exercise in Jammu and Kashmir post Article 370 with Udhampur and Jammu constituencies exercising their franchise in the first two phases on April 9 and April 26 respectively. The remaining three seats, which are mostly in the Kashmir Valley, will go to polls on May 13, May 20 and May 25.

Eid Prayers Not Allowed at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz ‘Under House Arrest’ Again

Police personnel locked the gates of the mosque after morning prayers on Wednesday without any written explanation, the mosque’s managing committee said.

New Delhi: Authorities have disallowed congregational Eid prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, which was locked for worshippers on Wednesday (April 10) morning while moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was again put under house arrest.

In a statement, Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the managing body of the 14th-century mosque in Srinagar’s Nowhatta locality, said that the police personnel locked the gates of the mosque after morning prayers on Wednesday without any written explanation.

The Anjuman said that the authorities informed them on Wednesday morning that the congregational Eid prayers, which were scheduled for 9:30 am, would not be allowed at the mosque. “Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was again placed under house arrest early morning today,” the statement said.

Eid is being celebrated across Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday after the crescent was sighted in Kargil district of Ladakh on Tuesday evening. In the rest of the country, the festival, which marks the culmination of the Muslim month of fasting Ramzan, will be observed on Thursday.

After the Union government read down Article 370 and downgraded the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, authorities have not allowed the Anjuman to organise Eid prayers at Jamia Masjid, citing fears of law and order problems breaking out in the sensitive downtown Srinagar where the historic mosque is located.

Earlier, Jamia, which is the biggest mosque of J&K, was also shut for congregational prayers on Shab-e-Qadr and Jumat-Ul-Vida while Mirwaiz was put under house arrest on these occasions too. He was also stopped from addressing a press conference at his Srinagar residence.

Mirwaiz had said that the closure of the mosque was akin to “spiritual oppression” and an “attack on the religious freedom and rights of Kashmiri Muslims”. “The insensitivity shown by these closures is a clear indication of a lack of respect and understanding. This spiritual oppression of Kashmiri Muslims must end now,” he said.

Mirwaiz told The Wire that the “blatant disregard for the religious and emotional sentiments of the Muslim community in Kashmir” was “unacceptable and deeply offensive”. “It is beyond comprehension how authorities can repeatedly target the largest place of worship and put me under house arrest in such a critical time, causing distress and suffering among the faithful.”

Authorities allowed the moderate Hurriyat chairman, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, to offer Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid for the first time during Ramzan after August 5, 2019. This was the fourth time he offered prayers since his release in September last year, according to the Anjuman.

Earlier this month, Darakshan Andrabi, who heads the J&K Wakf board, the managing body of some important shrines and mosques in the union territory, said that Eidgah ground in Srinagar, where congregational Eid prayers were held in the past, was also not fit for hosting the Eid prayers.

“The ground is shabby. Our people have ruined it over the years and it looks more like a playfield. It will take a lot of time and resources for restoration. A new pulpit is being made and a tender has already been floated. But when the ground is not proper, how will the (Eid) prayer be hosted there?” Andrabi had said.

Shab-e-Qadr Prayers Barred at Kashmir’s Jamia Masjid; Mirwaiz Again Under ‘House Arrest’

Authorities are also unlikely to allow the congregational Eid prayers at the Jamia Masjid, which is Kashmir’s largest, next Wednesday or Thursday.

New Delhi: Authorities in Kashmir disallowed the congregational Shab-e-Qadr prayers at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid on Saturday (April 6) while moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was reportedly put under house-arrest again.

Mirwaiz said that the action was akin to “spiritual oppression” and an “attack on the religious freedom and rights of Kashmiri Muslims”.

“The insensitivity shown by these closures is a clear indication of a lack of respect and understanding. This spiritual oppression of Kashmiri Muslims must end now,” he said.

Speaking to The Wire, Mirwaiz said that the “blatant disregard for the religious and emotional sentiments of the Muslim community in Kashmir” was “unacceptable and deeply offensive”.

“It is beyond comprehension how authorities can repeatedly target the largest place of worship and put me under house arrest in such a critical time, causing distress and suffering among the faithful.”

In a statement on April 6, Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the managing body of the 14th-century mosque located in downtown Srinagar’s Nowhatta locality, said that the authorities locked the gates and worshippers were asked to vacate the mosque premises on late Saturday afternoon.

“The Auqaf was informed that the observance of taraweeh or Shab Khani on the auspicious occasion of Shab-e-Qadr will not be permitted at the Jama Masjid,” the statement said.

Witnesses said that a large posse of police and paramilitary forces were also deployed outside the main gate of Mirwaiz’s residence in Srinagar’s Nigeen locality.

The mosque’s managing body said Mirwaiz was reportedly put under house-detention.

Mirwaiz is also Kashmir’s chief cleric. Photo: Jehangir Ali.

“Anjuman Auqaf expresses profound disappointment at the decision of the authorities and strongly condemns this repressive measure,” the statement added.

Shab-e-Qadr, or the ‘night of power’, is the holiest night for Muslims when the Holy Quran is believed to have been revealed to Islam’s most revered prophet.

According to the lunar calendar, it is observed on the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramzan, the month of fasting.

Barring Jamia Masjid, which is the biggest mosque in Kashmir, the congregational Shab-e-Qadr prayers were, however, held peacefully in the other major mosques and shrines of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Saturday night and were attended by thousands of men and women.

Earlier, on Friday, the Jamia Masjid, which was an epicentre of separatist sentiment in Kashmir, was shut by authorities without specifying any reason in writing.

The congregational prayers on the last Friday of Ramzan were also disallowed and Mirwaiz, who has challenged his “illegal and arbitrary detention” in the J&K high court, was also reportedly put under house-arrest.

He was reportedly put under house arrest again on Saturday.

A press conference called by Mirwaiz in response to his detention and the shutting of Jamia Masjid was also foiled by authorities, and media-persons who had gone to cover the event were turned away by security personnel from the Hurriyat leader’s residence.

Mirwaiz, who has participated in Track-II dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad on Kashmir, had termed his detention “extremely sad and unfortunate”, adding that it had caused “great distress, anguish and pain” to people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“We … protest this authoritarianism and direct violation of our religious rights,” he had said.

Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, was allowed last month to offer Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid for the first time during Ramzan after the abrogation of Article 370 and for the fourth time since his release in September last year, according to the Anjuman.

Meanwhile, authorities are also unlikely to allow the congregational Eid prayers at the Jamia Masjid, which will be observed next Wednesday or Thursday.

The mosque has not hosted any Eid prayers since August 5, 2019, when Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union territories.

Earlier this month, Darakshan Andrabi, who heads the J&K Wakf Board, the managing body of some important shrines and mosques in the Union territory, said that the Eidgah ground in Srinagar was not fit for hosting the upcoming Eid prayers.

“The ground is shabby. Our people have ruined it over the years and it looks more like a playfield. It will take a lot of time and resources for restoration. A new pulpit is being made and a tender has already been floated. But when the ground is not proper, how will the [Eid] prayer be hosted there?” Andrabi said.

J&K: Mirwaiz Put Under ‘House Arrest’, Jamia Masjid Closed Ahead of Prayers

Jumat-ul-Vida is the last Friday of the sacred Islamic month of Ramzan and thousands were anticipated to participate in the congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid.

New Delhi: Authorities have reportedly put Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest on Friday (April 5) while the congregational Jumat-ul-Vida prayers, which are held on the last Friday of the ongoing month of Ramzan, were disallowed at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar city of Jammu and Kashmir.

Witnesses said that the mosque was closed for worshippers while authorities prevented the mosque’s managing body from making preparations for Jumat-ul-Vida prayers on Friday morning.

Security personnel also stopped media persons from entering Mirwaiz’s residence in Nigeen locality of Srinagar after he called a press conference on Friday morning purportedly to talk about the new curbs imposed on him.

A spokesperson of Anjuman-e-Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the managing body of the historic mosque located in Nowhatta locality of downtown Srinagar, said that the authorities locked the main gates at 6 am on Friday, soon after the morning prayer session was over.

“They put padlocks on the gates of the mosque and told us that Friday prayers will not be allowed. They didn’t give any reason in writing,” said the Anjuman-e-Auqaf spokesperson.

Jumat-ul-Vida is the last Friday of the sacred Islamic month of Ramzan and thousands were anticipated to participate in the congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid where Mirwaiz was scheduled to deliver his first sermon on this occasion following the reading down of Article 370.

However, an aide of Mirwaiz said that the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was also put under house arrest on Friday morning and no one was allowed to come in or go out of the residence. “He was not allowed to address the press conference. They didn’t give any reason in writing,” the aide said.

A group of media-persons, who had arrived at Mirwaiz’s residence to cover the press conference, said that they were turned away from the main gate by the security personnel.

“We tried to reason with them that we had to attend the press conference. However, they didn’t allow us to enter. We didn’t had many options but to come back,” said a Srinagar-based journalist, who didn’t want to be named.

Authorities put padlocks on the gates of Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid on Friday to prevent Jumat-Ul-Vida prayers. Photo: Ubaid Mukhtar

In a statement, Mirwaiz termed his detention “extremely sad and unfortunate”, adding that it has caused “great distress, anguish and pain” to people. “We the people of Jammu Kashmir protest this authoritarianism and direct violation of our religious rights,” he said.

“Each Friday is a day of uncertainty and anxiety for me as I do not know if I will be allowed to go to Jama Masjid or not depending on the will of the authorities. A few hours before noon I am conveyed what that decision is and if I can go to Jama Masjid or not. This is the most arbitrary and authoritarian way to function and is highly regrettable,” Mirwaiz said in the statement.

The development comes days after Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, was allowed to offer Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid for the first time during Ramzan post Article 370 last month and fourth time since his release in September last year, according to the Anjuman.

In his sermon, Mirwaiz had called for unity and demanded the “release of political prisoners and youth languishing in different jails” of the country.

Last month, the administration told the Jammu and Kashmir high court that the moderate Hurriyat leader was facing a “perceived threat” from terrorists due to which he was verbally “asked to limit and restrict his movement” after Article 370 was read down.

The submission came after Mirwaiz approached the court to challenge his “illegal detention” after Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded and bifurcated into two union territories on August 5, 2019.

In a habeas corpus petition, Mirwaiz told the court that curbs were imposed on him by the administration and he was not allowed to come out of his home and perform his social and religious duties as he was ‘illegally’ detained at his Srinagar residence.

However, the administration cited over two dozen instances, including a recent visit to New Delhi, when Mirwaiz was reportedly allowed to attend social and religious functions and also to medical emergencies.

Mirwaiz’s Movements Restricted Due to ‘Perceived Threat’ From Terrorists, J&K Admin Tells HC

The administration rejected the moderate Hurriyat leader’s allegation that he is being ‘arbitrarily’ and ‘illegally’ detained since August 5, 2019.

New Delhi: Moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq faces a “perceived threat” from terrorists due to which he was verbally “asked to limit and restrict his movement” after Article 370 was read down, officials told the Jammu and Kashmir high court on Wednesday (March 6).

In a written reply, signed by Srinagar’s senior superintendent of police, the counsel representing the J&K administration rejected the Hurriyat leader’s claim that he was ‘illegally’ detained at his Srinagar residence.

The counsel cited over two dozen instances, including a recent visit to New Delhi, when Mirwaiz was reportedly allowed to attend social and religious functions and also to medical emergencies.

The state’s reply came in response to a habeas corpus petition through which Mirwaiz had challenged his “arbitrary” and “illegal” detention in the high court last year.

The court on Wednesday set March 14 as the next date of hearing in the case.

In his petition, Mirwaiz had alleged that security forces have detained him since August 5, 2019 with armoured vehicles along with police and paramilitary forces deployed at the main gate of his home in Srinagar’s Nigeen locality and that they prevent him from coming out.

Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, delivered sermons on important religious occasions at the Jamia Masjid, Kashmir’s oldest mosque, which is located in in Srinagar and where congregational prayers have been largely banned by authorities amid fears over the breakdown of law and order.

The state counsel, however, rejected the allegation, asserting that there was no detention order against Mirwaiz and “none of [his] legal, constitutional or statutory rights” were being violated.

Referring to the assassination of Mirwaiz’s father Moulana Mohammad Farooq on May 21, 1990, the counsel told the high court that the Hurriyat leader was “advised” to restrict his movement “for some time” due to the “overall security scenario” in Srinagar after the reading down of Article 370.

The court was informed by the state that Mirwaiz is “a well-known and respected religious head and pubic figure” whose residence was located in a “sensitive and strategic” area of Srinagar flanked by the Hazratbal shrine, where thousands of Muslim devotees converge on religious occasions; the volatile National Institute of Technology, which has witnessed communal clashes between students; and the upscale Nigeen Club.

“Thus, visualising the perceived threat perception of the petitioner in the set of circumstances, the agencies cannot afford to take even a slightest risk in curtailing the deployment of the security personnel,” the counsel said.

They added: “The threat perception of the petitioner cannot be ruled out under any circumstance which makes it expedient to deploy police contingents outside his house.”

The counsel also informed the court that Mirwaiz was “advised not to visit public and large gatherings which was in his own interest and also in compliance to SOP regarding COVID-19” following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“However, there has not been any specific restraint or alleged detention of the petitioner, as he has [off] and on visited his relatives and other places. The petitioner has recently also offered namaz [prayers] at Jamia Masjid and delivered sermons also,” the counsel said, terming the petition as “misconceived” and saying it “deserves to be dismissed”.

The counsel told the court that the J&K police and paramilitary forces are deployed in the Nigeen area for the security of the non-local staff and students of the two leading educational institutions, as well as the safety of migrant workers, some of whom have become victims of targeted attacks by militants.

“The vicinity around where the petitioner’s house is located is dominated as a preventive measure so as to avoid any terrorist activity … and to foil any attempt of anti-national elements to disrupt peace and public order,” the state counsel said.

Accusing Mirwaiz of “concealing and suppressing the material facts”, the counsel cited official records of more than two dozen instances when the moderate Hurriyat leader is believed to have attended social and religious functions besides medical emergencies since February last year.

The Hurriyat leader is “a free man who on and off visits doctors, relatives and attend(s) other religious activities at his will”, the court was informed.

“The petitioner has neither been detained nor has his freedom been jeopardised. The police deployment…is purely for safety and security purpose and as a preventive measure so as to foil any attempt of anti-national elements,” the counsel told the court.

J&K Admin Lifts Mirwaiz’s ‘Illegal’ House Arrest More Than Four Years After it Was Imposed

Last week, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had challenged his detention in the high court. The court had given the administration four weeks to respond.

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has reportedly conveyed to the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, that the curbs imposed on him since 2019 have been lifted, sources said.

“Senior officials visited the residence of Mirwaiz yesterday to inform him that the authorities have decided to release him from house detention and allow him to go to Jamia Masjid for Friday prayers today,” an official of Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid (AAJM), said.

A senior Jammu and Kashmir police official also confirmed to The Wire that the curbs imposed on Mirwaiz have been lifted and he would be allowed to lead the prayers at Jamia Masjid on Friday, September 22.

“After more than four years, he is ready to deliver the sermon and lead the Friday prayers at the mosque. It is a matter of great delight for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the official of AAJM, which is the managing body of the 14th-century mosque located in downtown Srinagar’s Nowhatta locality, said.

The decision to end the curbs on the Mirwaiz comes at a time when the J&K administration, which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government, seems to be in the midst of reaching out to religious leaders and scholars of Kashmir who were outlawed in the events following the reading down of Article 370.

On Wednesday, September 20, Darakhshan Andrabi, a BJP National Executive member, visited the residence of Mushtaq Ahmad Veeri, a prominent religious cleric of Jamiat-Ahle Hadees who was arrested and booked last year under the Public Safety Act, a draconian legislation used against militant sympathisers and separatist elements in Kashmir.

Darakhshan, who heads J&K’s Wakf Board, offered a Kashmiri shawl to Veeri, calling him “very precious” for Jammu and Kashmir. The senior BJP leader also posted photos from the visit on X.

Last week, the Mirwaiz had approached the J&K high court with a habeas corpus petition, challenging his “illegal” detention since August 4, 2019, a day before the Union government bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir and divided the erstwhile state into two Union Territories.

Mirwaiz had told the court that he was put under curbs without any official order and security personnel deployed outside the main gate of his residence in Srinagar’s Nigeen locality had been preventing visitors from meeting him for more than four years.

The petition had also stated that Mirwaiz, an influential religious leader in Kashmir, has been deprived of fundamental rights guaranteed to him under Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

The court had asked the J&K administration to respond to the petition within four weeks and the case was listed for detailed objections from the administration on October 4.

Earlier, the Mirwaiz, whose father Molvi Mohammad Farooq was assassinated in Srinagar on May 21, 1990, had sent a notice to J&K’s chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, threatening to legally challenge his “unwarranted”, “illegal” and “arbitrary” detention. The notice was also marked to lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, and the J&K police chief. Sources said that the administration has not replied to the notice so far.

The J&K administration has been denying that Mirwaiz, who has participated in Indo-Pak dialogue on Kashmir under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, is under house detention.

Earlier this year, LG Sinha claimed that the Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, was “free to go wherever he likes”, a claim rejected by the Hurriyat leader in his Habeas Corpus petition which accuses the administration of infringing on his religious duties.

As chief cleric of Kashmir, the Mirwaiz legislated and issued decrees on social and religious matters and also led prayers on Fridays and other significant religious days at the historic Jamia Masjid. The petition in the high court describes his detention as a “deliberate attempt to hurt the religious sentiments of people of J&K”.

“By confining him, he has not only being deprived of his noble mission and cause but such illegal action of respondents are also depriving hundreds and thousands of people from listening to his inspiring Friday sermons and the sermons he delivers across the valley on important religious occasions,” the petition states.

Last month, Mutahida Mailis-e-Ulema, a conglomerate of leading religious organisations in Kashmir, had written a letter seeking an appointment with LG Sinha and obtaining his intervention in the release of Mirwaiz.

However, the Lieutenant Governor’s office has not responded to the letter so far.

Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir have welcomed Mirwaiz’s release.

Mirwaiz Sends J&K Administration a Legal Notice Against His ‘Arbitrary, Illegal’ Detention

Mirwaiz was put under house arrest along with other mainstream and some separatist leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on August 4, 2019.

Srinagar: Confined to his Srinagar residence for more than four years, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has decided to wage a legal battle against the Jammu and Kashmir administration over his “arbitrary and illegal” detention.

In a legal notice to J&K’s chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, has threatened to challenge his “unwarranted” detention in court if the administration, which is run directly by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government, doesn’t lift the curbs imposed on him since 2019.

Mirwaiz was put under house arrest along with other mainstream and some separatist leaders of Jammu and Kashmir on August 4, 2019, a day before the Union government introduced the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 as a Bill in parliament for downgrading the erstwhile state into two union territories.

While mainstream political leaders such as National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah, and Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti were freed within months after J&K lost its statehood, two key Hurriyat hawks – Syed Ali Geelani and M. Ashraf Sehrai – died while in detention.

Several separatist leaders and activists, including JKLF chief Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan, were booked under terrorism charges and shifted to Tihar jail in the national capital. Barring senior Hurriyat leaders Abdul Ghani Bhat and Bilal Gani Lone, who were also affiliated with the Mirwaiz-led APHC, all Hurriyat leaders are presently incarcerated.

J&K’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has consistently maintained that there were no restrictions on Mirwaiz and that “he is free to go wherever he likes”.

However, in the legal notice, Mirwaiz has rejected Sinha’s claims, saying that a “large contingent of security personnel” has been deployed outside his residence in Nigeen locality of Srinagar that “nullifies the aforesaid stand of lieutenant governor which speaks volumes”.

The legal notice, sent by senior advocate Nazir Ahmad Ronga, states that Mirwaiz has been subject to “miseries, mental torture and sense of insecurity” since he was detained, even though he is “known for his integrity and humanity” and “preaches the message of peace & love, strengthening of brotherhood and communal harmony”.

“The unfortunate part is that my client has not been allowed to participate in funeral and burial proceedings of his close relatives & near ones and not only this, he has been prevented to perform and lead Friday congregational prayers which again is the violation of his right to religion,” the legal notice, seen by The Wire, states.

As the chief cleric of Kashmir, Mirwaiz used to preside over matters of Islamic jurisprudence in Srinagar and he also led Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid, Kashmir’s largest mosque in downtown Srinagar’s Nowhatta, which hosts the biggest congregational prayers on important days in the Islamic calendar.

Mirwaiz has alleged that his house arrest is a “violation of the fundamental and religious rights…guaranteed by the constitution”, according to the legal notice, which has also been marked to LG Sinha, DGP J&K Police Dilbag Singh and SSP Srinagar.

“All this has been done in view of events & episodes post abrogation of Article 370 & 35A which is violative of Article 21 & 25-28 and that requires to be prevented under law. No attempt should be tolerated to fiddle with the sanctity of law which protects everyone equally as all are equal among equals,” the notice states.

Mirwaiz has also alleged that he has been put under house arrest “illegally without serving of any order of detention” and the security personnel deployed outside his residence were stopping visitors from meeting him and also preventing him from coming out.

“He has not been even informed as to why he has been detained nor has any ground of detention been provided to him. The liberty of my client has been curtailed in an arbitrary manner as such, therefore the said illegal & unwarranted detention is against the basic structure of the principles of natural justice,” Mirwaiz’s counsel Ronga states in the legal notice.

Mirwaiz has claimed that he “suffered an irreparable loss in terms of various and serious health issues which he has been experiencing and confronting since his detention”. ”But it seems that it also has no impact on state administration,” the notice, which was sent to the J&K chief secretary on Wednesday, August 17, states.

Mirwaiz has urged the J&K administration to “remove the…large contingent of security forces” outside his Srinagar residence and lift the restrictions against his participation “in religious activities and…congregational prayers on Fridays at Jamia Masjid”.

“If my client finds no prompt and positive response to this legal notice, he shall be constrained and compelled to file the appropriate proceedings or writ in the competent court of jurisdiction which he has a right to do and move for the redressal of his genuine and legitimate grievances and for the protection of his fundamental rights guaranteed particularly under Article 21 & Articles 25 to 28 of the constitution,” the notice states.

Earlier this month, Mirwaiz completed four years under “arbitrary and extrajudicial detention”, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

“Without any written order or any charges against him, APHC chairman is undergoing arbitrary and extrajudicial detention, leading to the suspension of all his fundamental human rights and freedoms, and his responsibilities as the Mirwaiz of J&K,” the APHC said in a statement on August 4.

In 2019, Mirwaiz had reportedly signed a ‘bond of silence’ to secure his release from house arrest along with two leaders from the National Conference and one leader each from the Peoples Democratic Party and Peoples Conference.

The bond, reportedly signed under Section 107 of the CrPC, prohibited Mirwaiz and others from making “political speeches”. Mirwaiz, who has been consistently criticising the policies of the BJP-led Union government on Jammu and Kashmir, has however rejected reports that he signed a bond to secure his release.

An influential separatist and religious leader, Mirwaiz participated in the bilateral talks between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue along with a delegation of the moderate Hurriyat leaders in New Delhi. The delegation also met then deputy prime minister and senior BJP leader L .K. Advani in 2004.

The talks were shelved in 2009 in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks and, back in Kashmir, the moderates were grilled by the hawks in the Hurriyat led by Geelani for participating in India-Pakistan rapprochement at the cost of the Kashmir issue.

J&K: Mirwaiz Under ‘Arbitrary and Extrajudicial Detention’ for 4 Years Now, Says Hurriyat

The J&K authorities have said there are no restrictions on Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s movements, but the Hurriyat conference has maintained that this is false.

Srinagar: Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq completed four years under “arbitrary and extrajudicial detention” on Saturday, August 5, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

A spokesperson of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) said that Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest on August 4, 2019, a day ahead of the BJP-led Union government’s decision to read down Article 370 and downgrade Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories.

“Without any written order or any charges against him, APHC chairman is undergoing arbitrary and extrajudicial detention, leading to the suspension of all his fundamental human rights and freedoms, and his responsibilities as the Mirwaiz of J&K,” the APHC said in a statement.

When J&K was a state, the Hurriyat chairman, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, used to lead Friday prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in downtown Srinagar. Last month, a protest was held by his followers and some worshippers who also raised slogans inside the mosque to demand his “unconditional release”.

However, the J&K administration has denied that Mirwaiz is under house arrest, with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha reiterating on Saturday, August 5, that there were no curbs on the movement of the moderate Hurriyat chairman.

“He is not under detention. There are no restrictions on his movement. He can go anywhere,” Sinha told a national daily.

The Hurriyat, however, rejected Sinha’s claims, again. “What is ironic is that the state authorities at the highest level deny this (house arrest of Mirwaiz) and say he is free while a police and paramilitary contingent remains permanently stationed outside his house disallowing him from leaving it (sic),” the Hurriyat spokesperson said.

Last year, The Wire tried to meet the Hurriyat leader at his residence in Srinagar’s Nigeen locality. However, the police and paramilitary forces deployed at the main gate refused to give access to the residence. Authorities have not specified the charges under which Mirwaiz has been detained.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Photo: Files

In 2019, a report claimed that Mirwaiz had signed a bond to secure his release from house arrest along with two leaders from the National Conference and one leader each from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples Conference. The bond, reportedly signed under Section 107 of the CrPC, prohibited Mirwaiz and others from making “political speeches”.

Mirwaiz had rejected the claim that he signed a bond to secure his release.

Over the last four years, Mirwaiz has consistently criticised the BJP-led Union government’s policies and raised the issue of Kashmir in his media statements, while calling for the release of the prisoners who were arrested in the aftermath of the reading down of Article 370 and are presently languishing in different jails across the country.

The Hurriyat said that it “will continue to safeguard the rights and interests of people of J&K and advocate dialogue, good neighbourly relations, peaceful coexistence and brotherhood among communities”.

“Jailing Kashmiri political leadership, cadres, activists ….. as a means of establishing peace and an approach to problem solving is the way of the current dispensation. What is to be seen is how long this approach is followed and implemented,” the Hurriyat statement said.

As an influential separatist leader, Mirwaiz was also part of a delegation of the moderate Hurriyat leaders who participated in the bilateral talks between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue. The delegation also met the then deputy prime minister and senior BJP leader L .K. Advani in 2004.

The talks suffered a setback in 2009 in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks and, back in Kashmir, the moderates were grilled by the hawks in the Hurriyat led by Syed Ali Geelani for participating in India-Pakistan rapprochement at the cost of the Kashmir issue.

Security beefed up on August 5, political leaders under ‘house arrest’

Security was beefed up across Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, which marked the fourth anniversary of the reading down of Article 370 on August 5, 2019. Peoples Democratic Party president and former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti alleged that she was put under house arrest.

The PDP chief had planned to lead a rally against the reading down of Article 370. But the party said that besides Mehbooba, some of its senior leaders, such as former J&K ministers Naeem Akhtar and A.R. Veeri among others, were either put under house arrest or detained at police stations.

The National Conference led by Farooq Abdullah also alleged that its party office in Srinagar was “locked down” by the authorities.“True to form and in keeping with the clampdown on mainstream democratic activities organised by parties opposed to 5th Aug 2019, the JKNC office has been sealed by the police. No one is being allowed in or out of the office,” the party said.

Authorities, however, allowed a BJP rally in Srinagar for celebrating the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, while a public programme was also organised by the party in the capital city. The party said that the decision has “brought peace, development and prosperity to J&K”.

National Conference vice-president and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah had also demanded the release of Mirwaiz after authorities eased some restrictions on the Muharram processions in Srinagar.

“Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is a religious leader and he should be released. Prayers should be allowed at Jamia Masjid without any curbs and Eid prayer should be allowed at Eidgah,” Abdullah had said.

Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the managing body of the mosque where Mirwaiz led Friday prayers, also issued a statement on Saturday demanding his release. “While all other religious activities are permitted and in fact facilitated by the authorities, it is openly discriminatory that he (Mirwaiz) is barred from his duties.”

In its statement, the Hurriyat said that Mirwaiz has “always advocated and led initiatives for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir conflict … at personal cost” but he is “being persecuted and imprisoned”.

The Hurriyat also blamed the government for “arresting youth on a daily basis, terminating Kashmiris from employment, framing and executing laws that disempower local people, engineering demographic change, gagging media and seizing resources” in Jammu and Kashmir.

Contrary to J&K LG’s Statement, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Remains Confined to Srinagar Home

When The Wire attempted to meet the Hurriyat leader at his residence on Saturday afternoon, the police presence outside his home contradicted the LG’s statement that Mirwaiz was ‘not under house arrest’.

Srinagar: Contrary to the statement made by J&K’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, security forces continued to impose curbs on Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, who remains confined to his Srinagar residence without charges.

Sinha had told BBC Hindi in an interview that Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, was “neither arrested nor is he under house arrest“.

But when The Wire attempted to meet Mirwaiz at his residence on Saturday afternoon, August 20, the police presence outside his home contradicted the LG’s statement.

The triple-storied, brick-and-stone residence is situated in the heart of Nigeen, an upscale locality flanked by Srinagar’s famed Dal and Nigeen lakes in the Hazratbal area, which is home to the University of Kashmir and the National Institute of Technology.

An imposing, double-framed gate fitted into a high brick wall separates the residence from the road. Outside the gate, more than a dozen police and paramilitary officers, some holding automatic rifles, stand in close proximity to each other.

“They don’t allow me to come out,” Mirwaiz told The Wire over the phone. “They (security officers) are right at the gate from the outside. However, the police van, which has remained deployed in front of the gate for the last three years, was pulled back in the morning and parked beside the wall.”

Outside the gate, a police official, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) without a name tag, sat on a plastic chair, wearing sunglasses. Beneath the chair lay a freshly emptied Mountain Dew bottle.

Even before I could try walking past the gate, the masked ASI stopped me. “Where are you going?” asked the official, sternly. When I conveyed the purpose of my visit, he refused to allow me inside.

“You have to get the permission of DSP (deputy superintendent of police) saheb. Without his permission, no one is allowed to meet him (Mirwaiz),” he said.

Also read: Three Years After Centre’s August 5 Move, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Still in Detention

I mentioned the interview in which the LG had stated that Mirwaiz was not under house arrest. The official seemed aware of Sinha’s statement.

“But this is the reality,” he said, pointing to the closed gate, “We have instructions to stop him (Mirwaiz) from coming out and also to prevent visitors from going inside. We are only doing our duty. If the government gives us a different order, we will follow it.”

The Wire made multiple phone calls and also texted the concerned DSP and additional DGP (Kashmir), Vijay Kumar, for their comment about the charges under which curbs have been imposed on Mirwaiz. This story will be updated if and when a response is received.

In the meantime, as our cameraperson continued filming the conversation, the ASI vacated the chair, leaving a bulletproof vest that served as a back cushion. Three to four policemen, all in civvies, who were hovering around the main gate, walked towards the ASI and joined the conversation.

“We don’t have any issue in allowing you to meet him,” said one official in civvies, who appeared to be in his thirties. “But we have to follow the orders. If the DSP saheb gives you permission, who are we to stop you?”

A third police official chipped in, “Some journalists had come in the morning also, but they too had to leave.”

Asked whether Mirwaiz has been allowed since August 4, 2019 – when he was put under detention at his residence, where he lives with his mother, wife and two children – the third official said, “There have been few such occasions when he had to come out due to a medical or other emergencies. Even then, he was accompanied by a police escort.”

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Photo: Files

Across the road, the eyes of paramilitary troopers, seemingly bored by the lack of action, keep a vigil as pedestrians walk by carelessly and policemen in civvies appear and disappear behind the gate, oblivious to the struggle of journalists asking for permission to meet the Mirwaiz who has been stopped from performing even his religious duties over the last three years.

In his interview, Sinha said that the security personnel deployed outside Mirwaiz’s residence are meant for his protection. “Even in 2019, the Mirwaiz wasn’t booked under PSA (Public Safety Act). He wasn’t kept in detention. If you go back, some incidents happened in the past, even the father of Umar Farooq was killed. We have kept policemen around him for his safety. He should decide what he wants,” Sinha said.

Reacting to the LG’s statement, former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted:

Terming Sinha’s statement as a “blatant misrepresentation of facts,” the Hurriyat Conference on Friday said that the “denial of his (Mirwaiz’s) incarceration is unbelievable.”

“Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is under house detention for the past three years since August 2019. Mirwaiz for the last three years has forcibly not been allowed to come out of his house despite repeated appeals from all sections of people to the authorities, including religious leaders across the state,” a Hurriyat statement said.

Sajad Lone, who heads the Peoples Conference, tweeted: “I think L-G sahib needs to verify facts. His statements don’t reflect reality. May I humbly state that the tradition of locking up leaders and then denying is an old worn out tradition. It has been happening for the last three decades. (sic)”

Three Years After Centre’s August 5 Move, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Still in Detention

The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have allegedly refused to specify the charges under which Mirwaiz has been confined to his Nigeen residence in Srinagar.

Srinagar: More than three years after the BJP-led Union government unilaterally read down Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, senior Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq continues to remain under detention at his Srinagar residence.

A Hurriyat official and a close aide of Mirwaiz’s said the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have refused to specify the charges under which he has been confined to his Nigeen residence in Srinagar, the access to which is “restricted and monitored” by security agencies.

“He is being punished for seeking resolution of the Kashmir conflict through peaceful means. If there are any charges against him, he has the constitutional right to be aware of those charges so that he can avail all the judicial remedies,” Mirwaiz’s aide told The Wire.

A police van trundled into the lane that leads to Mirwaiz residence in Nigeen locality of Srinagar on August 4, 2019, a day before Article 370 was read down and the state of Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded into two union territories. “The van continues to remain deployed outside Mirwaiz’s residence. His basic human rights are suspended, which have obstructed his religious obligations. It is a matter of great pain to him and the Muslims of Kashmir,” the Hurriyat official said.

Confined to his residence along with mother, wife and two children, Mirwaiz has been allowed to walk out under heavy security cover for a couple of visits to a hospital, including for the COVID-19-vaccination, and a death in the family. Only a few select visitors, which includes close relations, are allowed to meet the Hurriyat leader.

While Mirwaiz’s passport has been impounded for years now, sources said his two children have been awaiting the renewal of their passports for the last two years. A Hurriyat spokesperson said in a statement that Mirwaiz’s arrest is an “arbitrary, despotic and extra judicial act of the authorities” and “gross violation of all his fundamental and basic human rights”.

J&K’s Director General of Police Dilbag Singh and Kashmir valley’s top cop Vijay Kumar didn’t respond to queries from The Wire about the charges under which Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, has been put under house arrest. This story will be updated if and when they respond.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Photo: Files

According to data shared by the Hurriyat Conference with The Wire, Mirwaiz has spent 1,521 days in detention since 2016 when the killing of the popular Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Burhan Wani, sparked a wave of mass protests in Kashmir which often turned violent. This includes nearly two months that Mirwaiz served at a sub-jail in Srinagar’s Chesham Shahi, as the protests in Kashmir, guided by the Hurriyat’s ‘protest calendar’, refused to die down.

However, while the Hurriyat leaders would walk in and out of jails or house detentions when J&K was ruled by popular governments, the separatist politics has been relegated to margins after the BJP-led Union government brought the erstwhile state under its direct control in 2019.

Mirwaiz was one of the few Hurriyat leaders to be involved in a dialogue by New Delhi after then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that the talks with Pakistan over Kashmir would be held “under the ambit of humanity”.

Despite stiff opposition by the hawks in the Hurriyat Conference to his support for talks, and huge personal losses, including the assassination of his uncle Molvi Mushtaq in June 2004 and a grenade attack on his house on the same day, he continued leading the moderate faction of the Hurriyat in composite dialogue process during which he has met Vajpayee, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani.

Following the talks, New Delhi also allowed the Hurriyat leaders to travel to Pakistan where they met the country’s political and security leadership.

“Our approach has been one of moving away from the binary of right and wrong, which precipitates the conflict, to looking at solutions by understanding the concerns and interests of all the three parties (India, Pakistan and people of J&K) to the dispute, and trying to address them through dialogue and deliberations to the satisfaction of all. This is difficult but the best peaceful option available. Its benefits include peace in the region and economic prosperity for all,” the Hurriyat official said.

Curbs were imposed on the movement of Mirwaiz, like many other leaders of Hurriyat and mainstream parties, on August 4, 2019, as the Union government anticipated widespread law and order problems, especially in the Kashmir Valley, against the constitutional changes being made to the state of J&K without the approval of its people.

While some of those leaders, including J&K’s three former chief ministers – Farooq Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah – have been set free, and others have been charged and languish in jails in J&K and other parts of the country, Mirwaiz is the only leader who continues to remain under house arrest.

According to Anjuman Auqaf, the managing body of Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid where Mirwaiz used to lead congregational prayers on Fridays and other important days in the Islamic calendar, the mosque has been shut by the authorities on 167 Fridays since 2016 and even Eid prayers have been completely banned starting with Eid-ul-Azha prayers of 2019.

“Jailing Kashmiri political leadership, cadres, activists, journalists, youth and people from different walks of life in jails across India, and using all forms of repressive measures to quell dissent or resistance, is a despotic approach to problem solving and futile in the long term,” the Hurriyat spokesperson said, urging the Government of India to release the prisoners “unconditionally”.