For the first time since August 5 when Hurriyat chairman and head priest Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was arrested, top cleric of Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid Maulana Ahmad Sayed Naqashbandi on Friday demanded Mr. Farooq’s release “to allow him to lead prayers in the mosque".
In his Friday address at the Jamia Masjid in the old city, here, Mr. Naqashbandi, vice president of the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid (AAJM), expressed regret and concern at the continued detention of president AAJM Farooq.
“The Mirwaiz is under arbitrary continued house detention since August 5, 2019, by the authorities. He’s the religious head of Muslims of Kashmir and incapacitating him from performing his religious duties as the Mirwaiz and barring him from performing religious obligations as a Muslim of offering congregational Friday prayers is a violation of fundamental human rights,” he said.
He demanded that the Mirwaiz be released “forthwith and allowed to lead the congregation in the Jamia Masjid”. “In fact, all prisoners including youth languishing in various jails across India should be released,” he added.
Kashmir Bar chief’s heath deteriorating in jail
Meanwhile, Adil Asimi, Joint Secretary of the J&K High Court (J&KHC), on Friday expressed convern over the deteriorating and falling health of the Bar president Mian Abdul Qayoom in the Central Jail Agra.
“An extraordinary meeting of the Bar was held on Friday over the reports of Qayoom's health. Mr. Qayoom has been shifted to a local hospital for treatment where the facilities are inadequate,” said Mr. Asimi.
Quoting the family members, Mr. Asimi said they were allowed to meet Qayoom recently. “Three ECGs and one Echocardiography Cardio-graphy conducted on Qayoom Sahab indicated serious problems, including artery blockage of 60%. It's fatal at his age and his illness has aggravated to such an extent that he has been unable to walk for the past two days and has been relegated to a wheelchair,” he said.
The family members, according to the Bar, complained that advocate Qayoom has “suffered complete neglect at the Agra Hospital, where he was given nothing to eat despite being diabetic for the entire day.”
“His health quickly worsened as soon as he was back in the prison and is in grave pain at the moment and requires immediate advanced treatment,” the family members added.
The Bar has demanded "to revoke the unconstitutional and illegal detention order and release Qayoom. “If anything happens to Mr. Qayoom, the concerned authorities under whose orders he has been detained would be solely responsible for the same,” the Bar warned.
