Mirwaiz Umar Farooq returned to Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid for the first time since August 2019, having spent more than four years in detention at home. Breaking down as he climbed the pulpit of the mosque to begin his sermon, the Hurriyat chairman said he would continue to seek “a peaceful resolution” of people’s issues, despite paying the price for it.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, the Mirwaiz added that he agreed with the PM that this was not an era of war.
Umar Farooq was received by an emotional crowd of hundreds as he returned to lead prayers after 212 weeks, at Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta, with chants of “Marhaba, Mirwaiz”. People had started trooping in as news of the Mirwaiz’s release from detention spread, with scores of security officials keeping a watch.
“We have been called separatist, anti-national and peace disruptors. However, we have no personal benefits to gain from this, I did not have any personal ambition here. We only represent the interests and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We seek a peaceful resolution of their issues, but on their (the people’s) terms,” he said.
He added: “We have always believed and participated in efforts seeking resolution through an alternative to violent means, which is dialogue and reconciliation, and we have personally suffered for pursuing this route.”
The Mirwaiz also called for the return of “our Pandit brothers” to Kashmir. “We believe in peaceful coexistence between communities and nations; between the strong and the weak, between the majority and the minority. We have always advocated the return of Kashmiri Pandits and disapproved of making this human issue a political one.”
For some, it may be a territorial issue, “but for us, it has always been a human issue”, Umar Farooq said, noting that one part of J&K is in India, another in Pakistan and the third in China. “All these make Jammu and Kashmir. It is a reality that the issue needs to be resolved, which the international community also endorses.”
Mirwaiz also called for a rethink on a “stern approach” to issues. “It leads to human rights violations. Dozens of our leaders – men and women – are languishing in jails for years, thousands of young men and boys, journalists and human rights activists and lawyers are suffering in incarceration. They need to be released as soon as possible. Their health and families are suffering.”
He said that after the assassination of his father, the last few years had been the most difficult period for him. “I am aware that the time after August 5, 2019, has not been easy. Articles 370 and 35A were abrogated, J&K was stripped of statehood and split into Union territories. Ladakh was separated from J&K and, in opposition to people’s wishes and through a series of unilateral decisions, the people of J&K were left weak and powerless,” the Mirwaiz said.
The political parties in Kashmir welcomed Umar Farooq’s release from house detention, and hoped that he would be allowed to remain free.
“He should not have been detained for so long. Most of us who were released from detention had to seek the intervention of courts. This time as well, after Mirwaiz sahab went to the High Court seeking his release, the government was forced to release him,” National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said, adding that he hoped the Mirwaiz is allowed “to move freely, interact with people and resume his social / religious responsibilities”.
Last month, after the completion of four years since he was put in house detention ahead of the abrogation of Article 370, Umar Farooq had sent a legal notice to the government, seeking his release and warned of challenging it in the court if it failed to come up with a positive response. On September 15, the court sought a response from the J&K administration on the status of the detention.
This was a year after J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha claimed that the Mirwaiz was not under house arrest and was free to move anywhere.
On his release after four years, the Mirwaiz told The Indian Express: “It was indeed a feeling of relief and joy leaving the house. Personal freedom is a blessing.”
Former J&K chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said the government is “correcting its mistakes” by releasing the Mirwaiz, “Mirwaiz sahab is a greatly respected religious leader and to have held him in detention for four years is against humanity and the democratic set-up of this country.”
People’s Conference president Sajad Lone said the Mirwaiz symbolises a tradition “which is primarily religious in nature but also has strong societal connotations”. “This tradition has been routinely interrupted in the last three decades, by all governments.”