Srinagar, Aug 07 (KNO): Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday said he was placed under house arrest and prevented from offering Friday prayers and delivering the sermon at the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar, alleging that the move came soon after the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) raised concerns over the sale of pork in Kashmir.
In a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), a spokesperson said Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Dr Moulvi Mohammad Umar Farooq was once again placed under house arrest and prevented from going to the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar to offer the obligatory Friday prayers and deliver the sermon.
In a post on X, Mirwaiz said that, as usual, no reason had been given by the authorities for restricting his movement. He, however, said the timing of the action, coming soon after the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) raised what he termed a legitimate concern over the sale of pork in Kashmir, was telling.
The spokesperson said Mirwaiz maintained that such high-handed measures only reinforced the shrinking space and the reprisals that followed for raising the public or religious concerns of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said silencing people's voices through arrests and bans would neither address their concerns nor prevent them from being raised.—(KNO)