Specials prayers were organised in all the major mosques, shrines and imambarahs of the Kashmir Valley including the historic Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, for those who lost their lives in the devastating earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria earlier this week.
The devastation following the massive earthquake continues to spread, as the death toll in Türkiye and Syria crosses 21,000.
At Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, the prayers were led by Imam Hai, Maulana Ahmad Saeed Naqshbandi, who on behalf of the people of Kashmir, expressed sympathy and solidarity with the people of Türkiye and Syria and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery to those injured.
He also expressed strong resentment against the occupation authorities for keeping the Valley’s top religious leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq continuously under detention for the last three and a half years, and termed it extremely unfortunate and condemnable, Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid said in a statement.
He said due to the continued detention, the Mirwaiz has been unable to discharge his religious duties towards the people in all these years.
Imam Naqshbandi urged the occupation authorities to end the prolonged and unjustified detention of the Mirwaiz and release him before Shab-e-Meraaj-un-Nabi (peace be upon him).
On the occasion, the people who had come from various parts of the Valley to perform Friday prayers in the Jamia Masjid also expressed strong anger against the continued detention of the Mirwaiz and protested against the ‘dictatorial behavior of the authorities’, the statement added. Meanwhile, the Chairman of Kashmir Council Europe (KCEU), Ali Raza Syed, in a statement issued in Brussels offered condolences over the loss of lives in Türkiye and Syria due to the devastating earthquake. He expressed solidarity with the people of Türkiye and Syria in this trying time.—KMS
