Srinagar, Dec 26: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmir’s chief cleric and former chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), on Friday said he was left with a “Hobson’s choice” and decided to remove the Hurriyat chairman designation from his social media handle on ‘X’.
In a post on ‘X’, explaining the move, the Mirwaiz said authorities had been pressuring him for some time to change his profile description, warning that his account could be taken down if he continued to describe himself as Hurriyat chairman.
He said this was because all constituents of the Hurriyat Conference, including the Awami Action Committee (AAC) led by him, had been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), rendering the Hurriyat a prohibited organisation.
“For some time now, I was being pressed by the authorities to make changes to my ‘X’ handle as Hurriyat chairman… failing which they would take down my handle,” the Mirwaiz said. “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 with them and the outside world. Under such circumstances, it is a Hobson’s choice I was left to make.”
Following the change, Mirwaiz’s ‘X’ profile now carries only his name and location details.
He has over 2.31 lakh followers on the platform.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was the first chairman of the APHC, an umbrella body of separatist political groups, traders’ organisations, and civil society groups formed in 1993.
The development comes against the backdrop of a sharp decline in separatist activity in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019.
After the move, the Centre adopted a stringent approach towards separatist organisations, banning several groups under the UAPA and arresting prominent leaders.
Mirwaiz’s own organisation, AAC, has been banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which has accused it of engaging in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the country.
The Centre has alleged that members of the AAC were involved in spreading anti-India propaganda to promote secessionism.
After the abrogation of Article 370, Mirwaiz was placed under house detention and was released nearly five years later following directions from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
Since his release, he has largely avoided commenting on sensitive political issues, focusing instead on social matters.
He continues to deliver Friday sermons at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid.
Meanwhile, Mirwaiz Manzil-Office of Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir posted on ‘X’, “It is very unfortunate that a certain coterie of opportunists, known to all, are going to town moralising about the @MirwaizKashmir is removing his designation as Hurriyat chief from his X handle by a vicious stretch of imagination, as being equivalent to him giving up on his ideals and beliefs in what Hurriyat represents both as an idea and in terms of dialogue as a means of resolution. Mirwaiz sahib has already put out the facts about the deletion in his communication. The attempt to twist this into an abandonment of principle is both misleading and mala fide. And that is why it needs to be called out.
Mirwaiz has a great legacy to uphold and is accountable not to such elements, but to the people of J&K and to Allah, who will judge him for his conduct and intentions. It is regrettable that in their desperation to target the Mirwaiz personally, these individuals show little concern for the pain, confusion, and dismay such malicious campaigns cause to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a people in grind, enduring one crisis after another for decades. The Office of the Mirwaiz urges these individuals to refrain from further vitiating the public atmosphere by creating doubts and misgivings where none exist. Even if they believe that such ploys will advance their political ambitions to come to power, @MirwaizKashmir continues to pray that they may succeed not in personal gain but in genuinely serving the people of Jammu and Kashmir.”
