Friday prayers not allowed at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid

Srinagar, Oct 27 (PTI) Congregational prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid in the city were barred for the third consecutive Friday amid apprehension of protests against the Israeli action in Gaza, officials said.

The grand mosque, located in the Nowhatta area of the city, remained locked and security personnel were deployed around it to maintain law and order, they said.

Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who also is the chief priest of Kashmir, said the repeated closure of the historic Jamia Masjid and the Mirwaiz’s “house detention” are “reminders of the situation in J-K and its fragile normalcy”.

It said Kashmiris stand with the people of Palestine irrespective of bans and restrictions on them.

The Hurriyat said war can never buy peace and only leads to destruction and creates more mistrust, insecurities, and cruelties.

“While thousands of children of Gaza have been bombed to death, hospitals and homes are being razed to the ground, the war on Palestinians — a blot on humanity — continues uninterrupted and those who claim to be champions of human rights and freedoms are either supporting it or silent,” it added.

Over 1,400 people were killed in the unprecedented attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7. Hamas has held more than 220 people hostage in Gaza.

Israel launched retaliatory strikes which has left a trail of death and destruction in Gaza.