In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Indian authorities prevented senior APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and others from attending the funeral prayers of senior Hurriyat leader, Professor Abdul Ghani Butt, who passed away at his Sopore residence on Wednesday . According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq among many political leaders and associates of the late leader were not allowed to join funeral.

Restrictions were imposed, and the family was compelled to conduct the funeral hurriedly. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement strongly condemned the authorities for barring him and others from attending the funeral. In a statement posted on X, Mirwaiz expressed deep grief at the demise of Prof. Butt, describing it as a “huge personal loss” and lamented that he was locked inside his home, denied the right to offer his last respects.

“It pains me beyond words that the authorities compelled the family of Prof. Sahib to conclude his janazah hurriedly. I have been locked inside my home and deprived of the solace of walking with him in his final journey,” Mirwaiz said. He added that his 35-year-long association with Prof. Butt was a source of guidance and friendship, and said Kashmir had lost a sincere and visionary leader.

“So many others, too, longed to pay their last respects. To be deprived of even the solace of participating in his janazah and bidding him a final goodbye is an unbearable cruelty,” he noted. The Mirwaiz said Prof. Butt was not only a seasoned politician but also a respected academic and intellectual voice of Kashmir whose contributions would be remembered for decades.

He urged the authorities to show sensitivity in such matters instead of inflicting further pain on the people. Meanwhile, another Hurriyat leader Masroof Abbas who also placed under house arrest today in a statement lamented that the weight of grief becomes unbearable when one is not even allowed to walk to the janaza of a deeply respected elder. “Being denied the opportunity to bid a final farewell, I find myself whispering my last respects to Prof. Sahib in solitude,” he expressed.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)