Kashmir Mirwaiz Drops Hurriyat Title From X, Cites Pressure; Sparks Political Debate | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has removed the designation of “Chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference” from his verified X handle, citing sustained pressure from the Jammu and Kashmir administration and a warning that his account could be taken down if he did not comply.

The move was described by Mirwaiz as a “Hobson’s choice”.

“For some time now, I was being pressed by the authorities to make changes to my X (formerly Twitter) handle as Hurriyat chairman, as all constituents of Hurriyat Conference, including the Awami Action Committee that I head have been banned under the UAPA, making Hurriyat a banned organisation, failing which they will take down my handle,” Mirwaz said in a post on X on Friday.

For some time now, I was being pressed by the authorities to make changes to my X (formerly Twitter) handle as Hurriyat chairman, as all constituents of Hurriyat Conference, including the Awami Action Committee that I head have been banned under the UAPA, making Hurriyat a banned…

— Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) December 26, 2025

 “At a time when public space and avenues of communication stand severely restricted, this platform remains among the very few means available to me to reach out to my people and share my views on our issues with them, and the outside world. Under such circumstances, it is a Hobson’s choice I was left to make,” he added.

Soon after the change to his social media profile, Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest, preventing him from leading the Friday congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar’s Nowhatta area. His office, Mirwaiz Manzil, said he was also stopped from attending the launch of the Mirwaiz Foundation Calendar 2026, a cultural initiative meant to celebrate shared spiritual and architectural heritage.

“Curtailing peaceful religious or community activity is very sad and unjust,” his office said, adding that repeated restrictions deepen alienation rather than address underlying issues.

The latest developments have revived attention on the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, formed in 1993 at the peak of insurgency to provide a political platform for separatist groups. Following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the Union government banned most of its constituent organisations under UAPA, arrested several senior leaders, and tightened restrictions on separatist activity. Mirwaiz was the founding chairman of the alliance and led its moderate faction for years.

The removal of the designation has drawn mixed reactions from across the political spectrum. People’s Democratic Party MLA Waheed Rehman Parra defended Mirwaiz’s decision, urging that it should not be politicised or weaponised. Drawing a parallel with the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, Parra said difficult symbolic concessions made in the interest of peace are remembered in history as acts of wisdom and moral courage, not weakness. “Choosing peace over rigidity is leadership,” he said, warning that trolling and attacks on the Mirwaiz only deepen divisions.

In the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet ﷺ agreed to erase the words “Muhammad-ur-Rasoolullah”—the very foundation of the Kalima—solely in the interest of peace. History remembers this not as compromise, but as wisdom, foresight, and moral courage.

If Mirwaiz Kashmir has…

— Waheed Para (@parawahid) December 26, 2025

Former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said that dropping the title was Mirwaiz’s personal decision but argued that it does not address the deeper “alienation” between New Delhi and the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “Hurriyat is not a human, it is an idea,” she said, adding that the idea cannot be erased by arrests or bans.

National Conference chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq said the matter deserved review, noting Mirwaiz’s standing as a widely respected religious scholar. “If a person of his stature says he has been pressurised, it needs to be examined seriously,” he said.

However, the move also attracted criticism. People’s Conference leaders questioned whether the change represented merely a technical adjustment or a broader ideological retreat, while cautioning against invoking religious history for contemporary political decisions. Some critics accused the Mirwaiz of masking compulsion as principle, an allegation his supporters have rejected.

Meanwhile, the Mirwaiz Foundation, in association with Anjuman-e-Auqaf Jama Masjid, went ahead with the launch of its 2026 calendar titled Pillars of Faith: Wooden Mosques on the Historic Silk Route, documenting historic wooden mosques across Kashmir and Central Asia. Mirwaiz could not attend the event due to his detention, with organisers saying the initiative aims to reconnect younger generations with a shared spiritual heritage.