Hurriyat charirman Mirwaiz under house arrest, barred from Friday sermon

Hurriyat conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

SRINAGAR: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest on Friday and barred from delivering sermon at Kashmir’s Jamia Masjid. “Once again, I have been placed under house arrest by authorities,” the Mirwaiz said, adding that a large posse of cops had been deployed outside his residence early Friday, and the main gate had been locked.Calling the move an interference in the religious affairs of Muslims, the Mirwaiz said, “Our human and political rights already stand denied… there is relentless interference in our religious matters from locking us up to silencing our voice on issues ranging from the Ashoka plaque at Hazratbal to meddling with Muslim calendar holidays, to disallowing religious functions at masjids.”NC spokesman Imran Dar condemned Mirwaiz’s house arrest, calling it “absolutely wrong”. Under the UT arrangement in J&K, police, security and law & order falls under the purview of LG Manoj Sinha.