The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) has condemned the authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir for disallowing Juma prayers at Jamia Masjid Srinagar and placing senior APHC leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, under house arrest. According to Kashmir Media Service, the APHC spokesman in a statement in Srinagar said that for the fifth consecutive Friday no prayers were allowed at the Jamia Masjid Srinagar and Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest. He said if the reason for this ban is fear of display of support and solidarity by the people of Kashmir with the hapless people of Palestine being bombed and butchered by Israel, that solidarity was and will be there for them as fellow humans and Muslims.

The spokesman strongly condemned the forcible and arbitrary house detention of Mirwaiz and other religious leaders by the authorities. He said advocating peaceful resolution of the internationally-acknowledged Kashmir dispute as per the will of its people, for which APHC came into existence, is no crime. He reiterated that the lingering dispute has to be resolved as per the UN resolutions and the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He added that settlement of the lingering dispute is also essential for enduring durable peace in the region.

Meanwhile, APHC-AJK Convener, Mehmood Ahmed Saghar, in a statement also denounced in strong terms the continued illegal house detention of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and ban on Friday prayers in historic Jamia Masjid, Srinagar. He demanded that restrictions on the Mirwaiz should be removed and he should be allowed to perform his religious and social activities.

 Saghar also demanded immediate release of all illegally detained Hurriyat leaders and activists including APHC Chairman Masarrat Aalam Butt, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Aasiya Andrabi, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Merajuddin Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, Syed Shahid Yousuf, Bilal Siddiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Syed Shakeel Yousuf, Mushtaq-ul-Islam, Ameer Hamza, Dr Hameed Fayaz, Noor Muhammad Fayaz, Fahim Ramzan, Hayat Ahmed Butt, Rafiq Ahmed Shah, Showket Hakeem, Advocate Zahid Ali, Zafar Akbar Butt, Muhammad Yousuf Falahi, and Rafiq Ahmad Ganai, who are the worst victims of India’s political vendetta.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)