Mirwaiz Umar not under house arrest: JK Lt Gov; Hurriyat Conference reacts

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday claimed that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the Valley’s chief cleric and chairman of his faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, was not under house arrest as is being claimed by him but that security personnel were deployed around his residence in Srinagar to ensure his safety.

Sinha, when asked during an interview to the BBC as to why the Mirwaiz was under house arrest and under what charges since August 5, 2019, when the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, he quipped, “I want to correct you. Even in 2019, the PSA (Public Safety Act) was not slapped on him. He has not been incarcerated. If you recall history, his father too was, unfortunately, murdered. I think we keep policemen around him so that he remains secure. He must decide what he wants to do.”

The Hurriyat Conference strongly reacted to Sinha’s statement, terming it a “blatant misrepresentation of facts.” It said, “Such a blatant misrepresentation of facts and denial of the Mirwaiz’s incarceration is unbelievable. He has been not allowed to come out of his house despite repeated appeals and implorations from all sections of people including religious leaders to the government during the last three years.”

It said that newspaper and electronic media reports bear witness to it and also to the Mirwaiz being stopped even from going to Srinagar’s Jama Masjid on Fridays to deliver religious sermons, a centuries old tradition in J&K, or to visit other religious places on important religious occasions.

The statement said that except close relatives no one is allowed to enter the Mirwaiz Manzil at Nigeen here. “How can these facts be negated and claims of his not being under house arrest made?” it asked. The Hurriyat Conference added, “If the authorities now want to release the Mirwaiz it is welcome, but giving such misleading statements to save face, is mischievous”.