Mirwaiz welcomes ‘free, fair’ elections in Bangladesh

Kashmir chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday (February 13, 2026) welcomed the “free and fair” elections in Bangladesh and congratulated the winning Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

“People of Jammu and Kashmir pray for peace, stability, and prosperity for the people of Bangladesh. I hope that good relations among all neighbouring countries are established that could help usher peace, progress and lasting stability in the region,” the Mr. Farooq said, in his Friday sermon.

Meanwhile, Mr. Farooq described the upcoming Islamic month of Ramzan approaches as “a deep spiritual month”. “For centuries, the mosque of Jama Masjid Srinagar has remained the central place of collective worship, reflection, repentance, and supplication during this sacred month. I hope that the authorities will not impose restrictions as witnessed in previous years on significant occasions such as Shab-e-Qadr, Juma-tul-Vida, and Eid-ul-Fitr,” Mr. Farooq said.

He said it deeply hurts the sentiments of people “when, without reason, the largest mosque of the Valley is forcibly closed on such sacred occasions”. “The closure of a central place of worship during the most sacred days of the Islamic calendar causes anguish among the faithful and undermines the spirit of the holy month,” he said.