Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was disallowed on Friday to leave his residence in Srinagar to attend congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid, a week after J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha suggested “he was a free man”.
“I started for the Jamia Masjid around 12:40 p.m. All I intended to do was offer my namaz. However, policemen outside stopped me from leaving my residence. I told them that a statement on my release was made by a responsible person who heads J&K,” the Mirwaiz told The Hindu.
In an interview with the BBC in Srinagar on August 19, J&K L-G Manoj Sinha said, “The Mirwaiz was not detained. In the past, his father was assassinated, unfortunately. We keep security around his house to protect him. He needs to decide what he wants to do. He is neither under house arrested nor detained.”
