Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq claims house arrest for third consecutive Friday

Srinagar, Sep 20 (PTI) Separatist Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has claimed that he was put under house arrest for the third consecutive Friday, preventing him from discharging his religious duties.

He also described as "strange" Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha's claim to a private TV news channel that the Hurriyat Conference leader was a free man and could go wherever he wanted.

"No reason is given for this infringement of my fundamental right to freedom and liberty. It is enforced in private and denied in public. No visitors, especially the media, are allowed to meet me," the Mirwaiz said on Friday.

The separatist leader alleged that "repeated detention" were affecting his obligations as the Mirwaiz (chief cleric) and his socio-educational initiatives.

He said he would file a rejoinder before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh concerning his ongoing lawsuit seeking permanent release from house arrest.

The Mirwaiz also condoled the passing of Jammu and Kashmir's first Muslim IAS officer Mohammad Shafi Pandit, who died on Thursday.

Pandit, who retired as chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission in 2009, died at a Delhi hospital while undergoing treatment for cancer.

"Shafi sahab was a dynamic bureaucrat, for whom the welfare of the people of Jammu and Kashmir was the motivating force throughout his career. Even after his retirement, he continued to serve the society through philanthropic and social initiatives. Such people are an asset to society and he will always be remembered for that," the separatist leader said. PTI