UPDATE - Freed after 4 years, Kashmir pro-freedom leader seeks peaceful resolution

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS BY MIRWAIZ UMAR FAROOQ, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Hilal Mir

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir (AA) – Kashmir pro-freedom and religious leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who was released on Friday after four years in house detention, called for resolution of the decades-old Kashmir dispute through dialogue.

Addressing an emotionally charged gathering at the historic medieval Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, he said Jammu and Kashmir may “be a territorial dispute for many, but it is a humanitarian issue craving resolution through dialogue.”

Farooq said he could not utter his sentiments and that the four years he spent in house detention were the worst period of his life after the assassination of his father, Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq, in 1990.

“People are aware that after August 4, 2019, I was kept under house detention and I was not allowed to move out of my home, due to which I was unable to perform my duties as Mirwaiz,” said Farooq, who is a Mirwaiz (literally, chief sermonizer) at Jamia Mosque, a titular position held by his family for several generations.

“The Hurriyat Conference continued to raise its voice, but the media stopped using our statements. I want to tell my people that it is the time to be patient, to have faith in the Almighty,” he said.

Mirwaiz said that Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi is right in saying, in the context of Ukraine, that the present era is not an era of war.

“We too have been advocating for the resolution of the J&K issue through dialogue. Following the path of peace, we had to bear difficulties, but unfortunately, we were branded as anti-peace. But we don’t have any personal ambition, we only want peaceful resolution of J&K issue,” he said.

Earlier, dozens of people broke down when ascended the pulpit of the medieval Jamia Masjid in Srinagar to deliver his first Friday sermon as a free man. The 50-year-old Farooq also sobbed as he stood up on the pulpit.

Scores of people lined up at the mosque's entrance to greet him with garlands. Women and men tossed almonds and candy at Mirwaiz while shouting pro-Islam and pro-Mirwaiz slogans.

The mosque's management told the media that Thursday night a few officials from the administration, which is run directly from the Indian capital New Delhi, informed them that Farooq could lead prayers at the mosque, which has been central to Kashmir's politics and which has the largest gatherings on Fridays and other important Muslims' religious occasions like Eid and Lailat-ul-Qadr.

Since the Mirwaiz was also the chairman of a faction of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a conglomeration of several smaller pro-freedom parties, the mosque had, by default, become an important center for pro-freedom politics.

The nearby Nowhatta neighborhood was the epicenter of Friday protests that often turned into clashes between stone-throwing pro-freedom protesters and police.

However, since Aug. 5, 2019, when the Hindu nationalist Indian government scrapped the region's autonomy, no Friday or other important prayers, have been allowed at the mosque.

Before and after Aug. 5, 2019, tens of hundreds of people, including nearly the entire pro-freedom leadership, were jailed. Although Mirwaiz was spared jail, he has been under house detention for the most extended period, only behind the deceased Syed Ali Geelani, the 89-year-old Hurriyat leader who died in house detention in Sept. 2021.

Mirwaiz’s release came days after the government released Moulana Mushtaq Veeri and Moulana Dawoodi, two prominent religious leaders, from detention under the draconian Public Safety Act, which allows for detention without trial for up to six months.