Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday that he was instructed by “authorities” to remove his designation as chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference from his social media, citing a ban on Hurriyat constituents. According to Mirwaiz, he was told that if he failed to comply, his account on platform X would be blocked.
“For some time now, I was being pressed by the authorities to make changes to my X (formerly Twitter) handle as Hurriyat chairman, as all constituents of the Hurriyat Conference, including the Awami Action Committee that I head, have been banned under the UAPA, making Hurriyat a banned organisation, failing which they will take down my handle,” he said.
Speaking to The Indian Express, he said it was “deeply distressing that we are being subjected to coercion in various forms”.
“This, however, in no way reflects any change in my stand or association, which remains clear as ever on the fundamental question of a peaceful resolution for which the Hurriyat stands,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mirwaiz, the chief cleric of Kashmir, was also restricted from leaving his residence to lead Friday prayers at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid. He said that at a time when public space and avenues of communication stand severely restricted, “this platform remains among the very few means available to me to reach out to my people and share my views on our issues with them, and the outside world. Under such circumstances, it is a Hobson’s choice I was left to make”.
Following this, he removed his designation from his bio on the platform.
Condemning the move to “pressure the Mirwaiz”, National Conference chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said that Mirwaiz is a respected political and religious scholar and that any such pressure on him “needs a relook”.
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Reacting to this, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said that while Mirwaiz’s decision to make changes to his social media accounts was a personal call, “Hurriyat is an idea that does not get demolished by placing people in jail”.
“This is an idea of alienation between people and the country and it needs to be addressed,” she said.
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