Mirwaiz Umar Farooq barred from addressing Jama Masjid congregation

SRINAGAR: The authorities did not allow Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq to address the Friday congregation at Jama Masjid in Srinagar, The Mirwaiz said while political and human rights of the people in the Valley had already been denied, religious freedoms too were being curtailed through repeated detentions.

He said silencing of voices, interference in religious matters such as the installation of the Ashoka plaque at Hazratbal shrine, tampering with the Muslim lunar calendar and preventing religious functions is direct intervention in religious rights of the people of J&K.

The Mirwaiz, however, affirmed that despite such restrictions "the pulpit of Jama Masjid will continue to speak out not only against interference in religious matters but also against the injustices and disempowerment that people of the region are subjected to".