Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Terms Repeated Restrictions on Him ‘Highly Condemnable’

Srinagar, August 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

Senior religious leader and chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday that he had again been placed under house arrest and prevented from travelling to the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar to offer Friday prayers and address the congregation. He described the repeated restrictions as “highly condemnable”.

Reacting to the restriction in a post on X, Mirwaiz said he had been placed under house arrest again ahead of the beginning of the Islamic month of Rabi-ul-Awwal.

“Placed under house arrest yet again, on the eve of the blessed month of Rabi-ul-Awwal. The repeated and arbitrary restrictions imposed on Fridays are highly condemnable,” he said.

Questioning the restrictions despite official claims of normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir, Mirwaiz said: “If the authorities themselves do not trust their own narrative of ‘normalcy’ enough to repeatedly prevent me from going to Jama Masjid, what credibility does that narrative have?”

He also extended greetings to Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir and across the world on the arrival of Rabi-ul-Awwal. He said the month was an opportunity to renew one’s connection with the Seerah and Sunnah of the Prophet and reflect on the values of faith, mercy, compassion, justice, good character and service to humanity.

The Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid announced that, in keeping with a centuries-old tradition, Mirwaiz will deliver a special sermon on Monday, corresponding to the third of Rabi-ul-Awwal, at the historic Khanqah-e-Naqshband Sahib in Khwaja Bazar, Srinagar, on the occasion of Khwaja Digar.

The programme will be held between Zuhr and Asr prayers, and people have been invited to attend the gathering.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also heads the Awami Action Committee (AAC), which was declared an unlawful organisation by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on March 11, 2025. The organisation was subsequently banned for five years.

The government also imposed a five-year ban on the Jammu & Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM).