Disallowed Friday prayers, under house detention for 6th day: Mirwaiz

Srinagar Kashmir chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday (November 6, 2026) said the authorities disallowed him from leading the congregation prayers at Jama Masjid, apparently in response to the sermon delivered on the previous Friday on the Kashmir issue. “My house detention continues unabated for the past week, with police deployment and barricades in place.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to deliver the Friday sermon at Jama Masjid Srinagar to the faithful today,” said the Mirwaiz in a post on X. He also shared videos of the barricading by security forces outside his residence in Srinagar’s Nigeen area.

Terming the move of the authorities as “arbitrary and authoritarian measures”, the Mirwaiz said, “It was aimed to curtail freedom of movement and speech, and also betray the official narrative of ‘normalcy’ in Kashmir”.