—Photo: Reuters
Srinagar: The Indian government released Kashmiri leader and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq after more than four years of house arrest.
According to international media, the 50-year-old was detained along with other political leaders and thousands of residents after the government revoked the constitutional autonomy of Occupied Kashmir.
Most of the detainees were later released but Mirwaiz was unable to leave his residence across the street from his Jama Masjid in Srinagar. Thousands of worshipers gathered to see him lead Friday prayers for the first time in 218 weeks.
Last week, a court asked the Indian authorities for an explanation on the detention issue. Later, the Occupied Kashmir Police informed them that the authorities have decided to release them.
“This period of my detention and separation from my people has been the most painful for me since the death of my father,” he said in Friday’s address.
Mirwaiz termed the constitutional changes in Occupied Kashmir by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government as “unacceptable”, saying, “You think our sentiments are weak, not at all, our sentiment is high.”
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