Placed under house arrest, not allowed to offer Friday prayers, says Mirwaiz

Kashmir’s chief priest, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Friday (March 20, 2026) claimed he was put under house arrest and not allowed to offer the congregational prayers at the Jamia Masjid.

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“For the third consecutive Friday in Ramzan I have been put under arbitrary house arrest-never conveyed in writing, but enforced by placing police vehicles and large contingents in front of my gate and the entire area, chocking gully points and lanes with concertina wires, disallowing traffic movement, all to prevent me from delivering the Friday sermon at Jama Masjid!” Mirwaiz said in a post on X.

He also posted pictures purportedly showing a large contingent of security forces and police vehicles outside the gate of his residence in Nigeen locality of the city here.

Mirwaiz, who delivers the Friday (March 20) sermon at the grand mosque in Nowhatta area of the city, said his house detention “conveys panic of the rulers”.

“While it conveys panic of the rulers, the centrality of Jama Masjid for the Muslims of the region has unfortunately always been a thorn in their side, as are Muslim institutions and identity, which they want to undermine. But such measures cannot erase identity nor weaken faith. These attempts will fail,” he added.