Jamia Masjid controversy: Restrictions on Mirwaiz lifted

Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was set free on Sunday after being put under house arrest in the wake of the desecration controversy surrounding the Jamia Masjid, warned against sacrileges of religious places in the Kashmir Valley.

Moderate Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was set free on Sunday after being put under house arrest in the wake of the desecration controversy surrounding the Jamia Masjid, warned against sacrileges of religious places in the Kashmir Valley.

"Muslims can never tolerate sacrilege of their religious places," said the Mirwaiz, who is head priest and also head of the religious body Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema.

After his release, Umar addressed a gathering of devotees at the Dastgir Sahab Shrine Khanyar on the occasion of Urs of Hazrat Khadija. "The sacred month of Ramzan said that where on one hand it inculcates in us tolerance, but on the other it teaches us to rise against injustice."

Referring to the recent alleged incident of the desecration of Jamia Masjid, the Mirwaiz denounced the use of force on devotees. "Dozens of youth were also arrested by the police. The police action was unwarranted and reflected the worst form of dictatorial rule being imposed on Kashmir," he said.

The Hurriyat chairman said these acts won’t douse the spirits of freedom loving people."Neither it would force the pro-freedom leadership to retract from its legitimate struggle," he added.