Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was allowed to lead prayers at the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar on Friday, two days after the Lieutenant Governor’s (L-G) administration told the Jammu and Kashmir High Court that “he was a free man”.
“The Mirwaiz was allowed by the authorities to offer Friday prayers at Jama Masjid. It’s only for the fourth time after his release from house detention in September 2023 and for the first time since October 6, 2023,” a spokesman of the Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid, said.
Hundreds of worshippers thronged the mosque to listen to the sermon of the Mirwaiz, who is the Kashmir Valley’s chief cleric. “Repeated restrictions on me are very sad and painful. It also causes great grief to people as the pulpit falls silent,” the Mirwaiz said.
