J&K govt denies funeral prayers for Mirwaiz’s father-in-law at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid

The Jammu and Kashmir government denied permission to conduct funeral prayers of Dr Ghulam Sibtain Masood, the father-in-law of Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and brother of National Conference MLA Hasnain Masoodi, at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar on Thursday.

Dr Masood, 80, a former physician, passed away after a prolonged illness on Wednesday night and his family had planned the funeral prayers would be offered at Jamia Masjid in the Old City after the afternoon prayers and he would later be buried at his ancestral graveyard at Khrew, Pampore. However, police imposed restrictions around the mosque and the funeral was held at Wazir Mohammad Khan Bagat, Barzulla, on Thursday afternoon.

The Mirwaiz posted on X: “It is to inform that once again the authorities have sealed the gates of Jama Masjid, Srinagar, and cordoned its surroundings. They have informed that the namaz-e-jinazah (funeral prayers) of Dr Ghulam Sibtain Masoodi which was to take place after ‘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.”

The National Conference and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) condemned the government for the restrictions at Jamia Masjid.

“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 National Conference said in a statement.

PDP leader Iltija Mufti criticised the NC government for staying silence on such issues. “Unfathomable and cruel that the authorities have 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 and several other leaders expressed condolences. “Sorry to hear about the demise of Dr Sibtain Masoodi. May Allah grant the highest place in jannat to him. My condolences to the Mirwaiz and his loved ones. Dr Masoodi was also the brother of my senior colleague @masoodi_hasnain. I send my heartfelt condolences,” Omar Abdullah wrote on X.