Srinagar, Mar 04 (KNO): Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Wednesday called for the immediate release of protesters detained during demonstrations across Jammu and Kashmir, urging authorities to uphold the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
Mirwaiz further commended the unity shown by people across the region in expressing solidarity over recent events in Iran and described the shutdown as a peaceful reflection of collective sentiment.
In a statement issued to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir, Dr. Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq, in a post on X said that the unity shown by the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir — from the Valley of Kashmir to Pir Panjal and Jammu — in expressing grief and condemnation over the events in Iran is commendable and reflects the living moral conscience of the society.
He said, Mirwaiz said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir, as one Ummah, have demonstrated solidarity by standing firmly against oppression and unwaveringly with the oppressed.
He added that the shutdown observed across the region was a peaceful and powerful expression of that solidarity.
Stressing that the right to peaceful protest and expression of wounded sentiments must be respected, Mirwaiz expressed concern over reports of protesters and mourners, including women and minors, being detained. He termed such actions unfortunate and unwarranted.
“Mirwaiz also raised concern over the filing of FIRs and the withholding of accounts of local media outlets by social media platforms, including Facebook, under enforcement laws of the land, for covering protests,” he said.
He urged the authorities to release all those detained and seriously relook at the policy of continued censorship and punishment of freedom of expression.—(KNO)