SRINAGAR — Authorities on Friday once again placed Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest, preventing him from offering congregational prayers at Jamia Masjid Srinagar for the third consecutive week.
In a statement on X, Mirwaiz said police informed him in the morning that he would not be allowed to visit Jamia Masjid.
“What law, if laws govern us, sanctions such an assault on basic rights and turns worship into a crime? Week after week, on Fridays or any day they decide, at their whim and will, the authorities lock me inside my home, curb my freedom, and prevent me from fulfilling my religious duties,” he said.
Mirwaiz strongly condemned the repeated restrictions, calling them an affront to religious freedom and human rights.
He said those responsible for ensuring accountability “either dare not or bother not to question the authorities” over what he termed as “authoritarian behaviour.”