In a significant move indicating a softening of the government’s position towards separatists, separatist Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was released from house arrest on Friday.
Mirwaiz had been under house arrest since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India on August 5, 2019. According to the management committee of the grand mosque of Kashmir, Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz will take part in the Friday congregational prayers at the historic mosque.
Jammu and Kashmir-based political parties have welcomed the release of the Mirwaiz.
“I welcome the step taken by the administration in J&K to release Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from house arrest. I hope that they allow him to move freely, interact with people, and resume his social and religious responsibilities. Today, eyes in Kashmir will be on Mirwaiz as he delivers his first Friday sermon at Jamia Masjid since 2019,” said former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
People’s Democratic Party President and former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti said, “Finally, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq will walk as a free man after years of LG’s administration’s denial about his detention. As a religious leader, he is held in high regard by Muslims across J&K. It is unfortunate that a tussle has already begun between various BJP political outfits to claim credit for his release.”
Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari has been stating for the past few weeks that Mirwaiz will be released and he will offer prayers after him.
On January 25, 2021, Apni Party President Syed Altaf Bukhari met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. In the meeting, Bukhari, asked Modi to lift the ban on 4G mobile internet services across Jammu and Kashmir, sought the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits with the majority community in the Valley, and called for the restoration of statehood.
Bukhari was earlier with the PDP and was a minister in the PDP-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. He held important portfolios of education and finance. On March 8, 2020, this businessman-turned-politician formed Apni Party when Mufti was in jail. The National Conference (NC) and others call the Apni Party as the BJP’s B-team in Kashmir.
Mirwaiz is seen as the most moderate among separatists. It was his faction of the Hurriyat Conference that held talks with the Centre on January 22, 2004, with the then-Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani.
