Anjuman Auqaf of Srinagar Jamia Masjid has denounced the continued illegal house detention of its president Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as he was again not allowed to offer Juma congregational prayers.
The Anjuman Auqaf in a statement issued in Srinagar said it is another Friday, taking the tally to 212 since last four years plus, when it’s president Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was not allowed to offer prayers mandatory Friday at central Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, and as Mirwaiz address the faithful there.
It said despite repeated appeals and requests from all quarters to the authorities, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is not being released from house arrest. He was placed under house arrest on 4th of August 2019 when the Modi regime repealed Kashmir’s special status and imposed military siege in the territory.
Anjuman said although authorities claim that he is “not detained”, yet he is neither allowed to move out of his house nor go to Jamia Masjid on Fridays for sermon and Namaz and there are restrictions on people to meet him as police and paramilitary personnel and vehicles are permanently stationed outside his entrance gates on both sides of his house who don’t allow him to move out.
It said that three weeks back a legal notice was sent to the authorities to come clean on the status of his detention and release Mirwaiz Umar Farooq but no written response was received to the notice.
As such a writ petition was filed in the High court of the territory by the legal team of the Mirwaiz, “seeking order, or direction upon the respondents (authorities) to release the petitioner (Mirwaiz) from illegal detention as the petitioner has been detained/house arrested at his Nigeen residence without any order or authority in law.”
The writ petition further requests the High Court that it may issue an appropriate writ or order, asking the respondents to lift the siege outside the residential house of the petitioner at Nigeen Hazratbal, Srinagar.—KMS
