Sajjad Lone seeks release of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

SRINAGAR — Peoples Conference chairman Sajjad Gani Lone on Wednesday urged the Centre and J&K administration to release Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as soon as possible while terming his detention as a crime against all those whom Mirwaiz inspires at a religious level.

In a series of tweets, he requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah and LG Manoj Sinha to release Hurriyat (M) chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as soon as possible, saying he himself has been a victim of violence.

“Humble appeal to @AmitShah sahib and @manojsinha_ sahib to please ensure that he is released as soon as possible. He has himself been a victim of violence. Let it be known. There are many wars in Kashmir. And in our real war, he is an unapologetic moderate,” Lone said.

Lone, while apologizing for not talking about the detention of Mirwaiz, said that he inspires Kashmiris as a religious head.

“Spare a thought for @MirwaizKashmir. He is under continued detention for the last four years. And none of us has talked about him. My apologies. We may differ politically but he inspires us as a religious head. A religious head who spearheaded the forces of moderation,” Lone tweeted.

He said his continued detention is a crime against those whom he inspires at a religious level. “@MirwaizKashmir has stuck to utterances which are moderate and represent the true essence of Islam. He has religious duties. His continued incarceration is a crime against him and against all those whom he inspires at a religious level,” he tweeted.

Pertinently, several religious bodies and mainstream political leaders have expressed deep concern over the arbitrary detention of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for the last three years.