A spokesman said the Mirwaiz has “for the fourth consecutive time been chosen among the 500 most influential Muslim personalities across the globe by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISISC) Jordan and one among the five top most influential persons in the sub-continent.”
Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirrwaiz Umar Farooq has been ranked among the top five “most-influential” Muslim personalities in the sub-continent.
A spokesman said the Mirwaiz has “for the fourth consecutive time been chosen among the 500 most influential Muslim personalities across the globe by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISISC) Jordan and one among the five top most influential persons in the sub-continent.”
According to the RISISC-Jordan’s annual report for year 2018, tilted The Muslim 500, "Dr Farooq inherited the title of the 14th Mirwaiz Mirwaiz (traditional preacher of Muslims in Kashmir) in 1990 after the martyrdom of his father.”
“At the young age of twenty, he became the chairman and founder of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grassroots coalition of pro-freedom parties in J&K. He has raised the Kashmir problem at the United Nations, European Parliament and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), advocating dialogue with both India and Pakistan so that the aspirations of the Kashmiri people may be realized".
The spokesman called it “a matter of pride and honour for the people of Kashmir and an acknowledgment of their rightful and just struggle.”
He also condemned the continuous denial of travel documents to the Mirwaiz for the past five years.