Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmiri Hurriyat leader, released from house arrest after 4years

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmiri Hurriyat leader, was released from house arrest after 4 years on Friday in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The decision to release the Hurriyat leader was conveyed to him by senior police officials, who visited his residence and informed him of the authorities’ decision to end his house detention and permit him to attend Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid Srinagar.

Mirwaiz, aged 50, was detained in 2019 when India revoked Kashmir’s special status, plunging the region into political turmoil.

Following his release, Mirwaiz was allowed to lead Friday prayers in the principal city of the disputed territory, Srinagar.

Thousands of worshippers and his supporters were gathered to see Mirwaiz lead Friday prayers for the first time in 218 weeks, with women showering him with sweets and religious slogans resounding around the 14th-century Jamia Masjid building.

 

 

“This period of my house arrest and separation from my people has been the most painful for me since my father’s death,” he said, breaking down.

The mosque has historical significance for being a center of separatist politics and anti-India protests.

“God willing, you might think our spirit is low. No, our spirit is high,” the Mirwaiz said, calling the constitutional changes by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government “unacceptable”.

“Modi said about Ukraine that this is not the time for war. He is right,” he said, adding, “Disputes and disagreements should be resolved by talks rather than using power or unilateralism.”

He called for the release of “numerous political prisoners”.

He burst into tears as he stood in the pulpit.

 

Earlier the Indian government also released two other prominent religious leaders, Moulana Mushtaq Veeri and Moulana Dawoodi, from detention under the Public Safety Act, a law that allows for detentions without trial for up to six months.