Lieutenant general Manoj Sinha’s administration on Thursday disallowed funeral prayers for the father-in-law of Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at Srinagar’s Jama Masjid, unwilling to relax its iron fist even during the separatist politician’s moment of grief.
The government’s move was condemned by politicians from across the separatist, pro-India divide, including the ruling National Conference. The deceased Dr Ghulam Sibtain Masoodi was also the elder brother of former Anantnag MP and incumbent Pampore MLA of the NC, Hasnain Masoodi.
The funeral prayers were later held at a mosque in uptown Barzulla. Hundreds, including National Conference president and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, joined the funeral amid heavy rain.
Ghulam Masoodi was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Khrew, Pampore.
The Mirwaiz, the chief cleric of Kashmir, said in a social media post that the authorities had sealed the gates of Jama Masjid, Srinagar, and cordoned off its surroundings.
“They have informed us that the namaz-e-jinazah (funeral prayers) of Dr Ghulam Sibtain Masoodi, which was to take place after the ‘zuhr’ prayers today, will not be allowed at Jama Masjid. I strongly condemn the authorities for the use and display of force and power even in moments of grief and religious rituals,” he said.
An X handle of the Mirwaiz’s political party uploaded pictures of the police restrictions outside Jama Masjid to prevent the funeral. The authorities had put up barricades outside the mosque and deployed police to prevent the gathering.
The organisation condemned the restrictions and said such an aggressive approach by the state authorities in a moment of mourning was not only unjustified but also contrary to human values and ethics.
“The organisation paid rich tribute to Dr Masoodi, acknowledging his remarkable social and humanitarian services,” the party said.
The ruling NC and the Opposition PDP condemned the LG’s administration.
“The decision is deeply regrettable and wrong. Such actions are not only regressive but also demonstrate the hollowness of claims of normalcy in the region. It is precisely these kinds of steps that reveal the lack of trust the authorities have in their own assertions of peace and stability. The police, in their short-sighted approach, fail to realise that restricting such basic rights only further erodes the trust and goodwill of the people,” the NC said in a statement.
PDP leader Iltija Mufti criticised the NC government for staying silent on such issues.
“Unfathomable and cruel that the authorities barred the funeral prayers of Mirwaiz sahab’s father-in-law at Jama Masjid today. One assumed that after an elected government there’d be some relief, but instead they are complicit by their silence which has emboldened the Centre’s iron-fisted policy of repression,” she wrote on X.
Chief minister Omar Abdullah posted a condolence message but made no mention of the bar on the funeral at the Jama Masjid.