National Conference Lok Sabha member Aga Ruhullah meets Mirwaiz in Delhi; Waqf Bill and Kashmir discussed

The National Conference Lok Sabha member from Srinagar Aga Ruhullah Mehdi on Wednesday met Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in Delhi and deliberated on various issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir and Waqf Amendment Bill and Uniform Civil Code.

This is the first such meeting between a Lok Sabha member especially from National Conference and Hurriyat leader in recent years and signals a major shift in the political landscape of J&K.

In November, 2024, Mirwaiz had extended support to a protest in Srinagar led by Mehdi against his own government demanding rationalization in the reservation policy. Mehdi is here to attend the upcoming budget session. Mirwaiz had even expressed willingness to participate in the protest but he was not allowed to move out of his residence by the authorities.


“It was a courtesy meeting and we deliberated on various issues concerning J&K and other important issues concerning muslims,” said Mirwaiz. The duo had an exchange on the ground situation in J&K following the reading down of Article 370 in August 2019, when J&K was also downgraded into the two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.

The Hurriyat leader has been in Delhi for sometime now and recently along with a few other religious preachers of Muttahida Majlis e Ulema–an amalgam of around 49 religious organisations from J&K and Ladakh–met the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, chaired by Jagdambika Pal, and put forth their ‘concerns and reservations’ against the proposed bill. Mehdi also discussed the Waqf Bill amendment with the Mirwaiz, besides the issue of Uniform Civil Code, which also concerns the muslims and minorities across India.

The Hurriyat leader has already expressed his willingness for ‘meaningful engagement with New Delhi’ and has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take practical steps in the direction of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's policy of Insaniyat, Jhamooriyat and Kashmiriyat visa vis J&K.

Mirwaiz has already met some of the prominent religious leaders and politicians in Delhi and is likely to meet some more. He was likely to meet the NDA partners Chadrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar as well but the meetings haven’t been possible yet.