Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid (AAJM), Srinagar, has strongly condemned the authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) of keeping its chief, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, under illegal and arbitrary house detention for more than four years.
In a statement, the Anjuman said that was the 207th consecutive Friday when IIOJK’s top religious leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was not allowed to perform the important religious duty of offering Juma prayer or fulfill his official duties of delivering sermon at the grand mosque due to the continued house arrest. The Anjuman said the restriction on the personal and religious freedom of the Mirwaiz is the worst violation of human and religious rights, which is not only highly alarming but also against the democratic values. Those who believe in human, democratic and religious values should raise their voice against it, the statement added.
It is to mention here that the occupation authorities had placed the Mirwaiz under house arrest on August 05 in 2019 when the Narendra Modi-led Indian government repealed the special status of IIOJK. The Anjuman urged the international community to take cognizance of the grave human rights situation in IIOJK and intervene to ensure the release of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other political prisoners.—INP
