Hurriyat (M) on Friday said that authorities imposed severe curfew and restrictions from Thursday evening, sealing all roads leading to the historic Jamia Masjid and stopping Kashmiri Muslims once again from offering congregational Friday prayers for 19th week in a row.Resistance leadership had asked people to head towards the mosque and break the siege and observe Friday as Youm-e-Istiklaal offering congregational prayers at the Masjid. Authorities sabotaged the programme from Thursday evening by placing the Mirwaiz under house arrest, arresting Malik and detaining him at Central Jail Srinagar while continuing to keep Geelani under house arrest.When Hurriyat (M) Chairman broke the cordon to come out of his residence and move towards the Jamia Masjid, the police contingent present there immediately arrested him and whisked him away. Earlier, talking to media persons outside his residence, Mirwaiz said, “The anti-Muslim ruling regime has once again barred us from offering Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid and other main Masjid’s across the valley.”
He said “as Muslims it greatly pains and hurts us that we are forcefully stopped from offering prayers at the Jamia Masjid and from listening to and delivering Friday "vaz" a centuries old tradition of religious propagation and education in Kashmir.”
Mirwaiz said “our religious rights are under assault and as a subjugated people we know it is being done to inflict collective punishment upon us and show utter disregard and despise for our religion and religious sentiment. What is shameful though, is that some who have Muslim names are collaborators of such perversity and oppression.” He added that condemning such people is futile.Mirwaiz said despite such assaults our commitment and support for our freedom struggle will not waiver.Meanwhile, Hurriyat (M) spokesman condemned the ruling class for sabotaging the programmes of the unified resistance leadership with brute force and termed the house arrest the Hurriyat (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq, shifting of JKLF chief, Muhammad Yasin Malik to Central Jail Srinagar, continued house arrest of veteran resistance leader, Syed Ali Geelani and house arrest of Hurriyat leaders Moulana Abbas Ansari, Mukhtar Ahmad Waza, Advocate Shahid-ul-Islam, and Engineer Hilal Ahmad War as ‘an ideological defeat of the ruling class’ and said the action of teargas shelling of peaceful unarmed protestors at Narbal, Bandipora and other areas by government forces that resulted in injuries to dozens of people was deplorable and shameful. (KNS)