Kashmir: No Friday prayers at Jama Masjid, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq put under house arrest

The authorities in Kashmir did not allow congregational prayers at Srinagar's Jama Masjid on Friday and put Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest, fearing pro-Palestinian protests after the prayers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

However, locals took out protests in favour of Palestine in Budgam in Kashmir and Kargil in Ladakh, demanding stoppage of Israel's operation in Gaza. The imams in majority of masjids across Kashmir prayed for the people of Palestine.

The Anjuman Auqaf, which runs the affairs of the historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar, said police officials closed the gates of the masjid and informed that Friday prayers will not be allowed. Mirwaiz, who addresses the Friday congregation at Jama Masjid and was released recently after more than four years of house arrest, was once again put under house arrest early morning on Friday, said the people cited earlier.

The Hurriyat, led by Mirwaiz - who figured in the list of 500 most influential Muslim personalities across the globe - had expressed great anguish and grief at the loss of lives during the ongoing escalation in the Palestine-Israel conflict, lamenting that the international community and the United Nations had failed the people of Palestine. The Hurriyat said the "people of Kashmir stand united in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine..