Srinagar, Jan 9 (IANS) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chief cleric of Kashmir said on Friday that authorities had placed him under house arrest, thereby denying him the opportunity to join congregational prayers seeking rain and snow for Jammu and Kashmir.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on X, “Another Friday, and once again authorities denied me permission to go to Jama Masjid. It is deeply saddening that I could not lead the faithful in collective ‘dua (prayer)’ for rain and snow during this unusually dry winter. Our prayers remain our strength may Allah accept them.”

Kashmir Valley has been reeling under an unprecedented dry spell and the plains of the Valley are yet to receive this season’s first snowfall.

People are worried about the absence of heavy snowfall this season so that perennial water reservoirs in the mountains get replenished to sustain various water bodies during the summer months.

Congregational prayers were held at many places in the Valley on Friday seeking God’s mercy so that a bountiful snowfall occurs during the remaining period of the ongoing 40-day long ‘Chillai Kalan’ which will end on January 30.

As the chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq traditionally leads the Friday prayers at the Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area of old Srinagar city, where he also delivers the sermon.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq became the chief cleric in 1990 when terrorists killed his father, Mirwaiz Maulana Mohammad Farooq at his Nigeen residence on the city’s outskirts on May 21, 1990.

Mirwaiz Umar also became the head of the Awami action committee after his father’s assassination. The Awami action committee was formed in 1993 during the holy relic agitation in Kashmir.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has already declared the Awami action committee an unlawful organisation.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq recently deleted the title of the chairman of the separatist conglomerate, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) from his profile on X.

The APHC, both its groups, the moderate group headed by Mirwaiz Umar and the hardline group headed by late Syed Ali Geelani have also been declared as unlawful organisations by the MHA.

–IANS

sq/rad