J&K Shuts Grand Mosque, Detains Cleric to Prevent Pro-Palestinian Protests
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir authorities on second consecutive Friday forced closure of the Grand Mosque in capital Srinagar and placed a prominent Shia cleric under house arrest ahead of the weekly congregational prayers to forestall probable pro-Palestinian rallies.
A spokesman of Anjuman-i-Auqaf Jama Masjid said that the police officials once again closed the gates of the historic Grand Mosque and asked the management not to open these for Friday congregational prayers. The spokesman added that the Anjuman chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq too was stopped from relocating to the Grand Mosque by the police.
The Valley’s chief Muslim cleric who also heads a faction of separatist Hurriyat Conference alliance was released from a prolonged house arrest in August, but the authorities have curtailed his movement on a few occasions since what they privately claimed was “in the interest of peace and his own security.”
A statement of the Anjuman said, “It is unfortunate that after being allowed to offer Friday prayers and deliver sermons at the Jama Masjid finally after four years of house detention, the authorities once again stopped him for the second consecutive Friday from going there. It added, “Since the 15th of October, he continues to be under house detention and is not allowed to move out.”
The Mirwaiz said that he deeply regrets the “repeated targeting of the Jama Masjid Srinagar by closing it to Muslims on Fridays and disallowing them from offering obligatory Friday prayers.” He added, “Such measures belie the claim of normalcy that the authorities make and instead cause great unease and hurt among the Muslims”.
Earlier the authorities placed prominent Shia cleric Agha Syed Mohammed Hadi Kashmiri under house detention to prevent him from leading a pro-Palestinian rally in Srinagar’s Bemina area.
The authorities termed these measures as “preventive” aimed at preventing any breach of peace in the Valley.
