Mirwaiz Alleges Harassment of Political Workers and Youth Ahead of Elections

Hurriyat Conference chairman and Jamia Masjid chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq continues to be under “undeclared and arbitrary house detention” since September 2, said Mutaheda Majlis-E-Ulema (MMU), a religious body he heads. On Friday, he was again barred from going to Jamia Masjid to deliver the sermon and from all his other public engagements, it added.

A statement by MMU said, “Being the patron of MMU, Mirwaiz was not allowed to attend its important meeting yesterday with regard to discussing the very serious issue of the Amendment to the Muslim Waqf Act with the religious leaders and scholars, nor was he allowed to attend a media session on the situation in J&K by a reputed national media channel.

“At the same event, the chief state functionary when asked about his detention, as always, refuted it outrightly,” it said.

Mirwaiz said it’s unfortunate that repeatedly he was being targeted and detained, which belies the claims of “normalcy.” According to Mirwaiz, as Assembly elections are nearing, despite the EC guidelines that preventive detention and asking people to report to police stations should be avoided, dozens of people from across towns and villages are being detained and political workers and youth are being harassed.

“Long lists of people in each Thana area have been prepared, who are to be detained in view of elections. There is fear among those being detained and those whose names are in these lists, that once arrested they will be booked under the draconian PSA and UAPA,” he said. Mirwaiz appealed to the authorities to “desist from such actions that create fear and intimidate people and stop their persecution in this manner.”

Mirwaiz also paid tributes to the communist leader Sitaram Yechury, who passed away in Delhi on Thursday.