Valley halts over summons to Mirwaiz

SRINAGAR: The Srinagar administration on Sunday imposed restrictions in several parts, bringing the old city to a halt during a two-day shutdown against the summoning of separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

On Saturday, NIA summoned Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz and Syed Naseem Geelani, the son of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, to Delhi on Monday for questioning in connection with an alleged terror funding case.

In a joint statement on Saturday, several trade bodies said the summoning Mirwaiz and Geelani was “totally undemocratic and will not be tolerated by the people of Kashmir in general and the trader fraternity in particular”.

The police and Central Reserve Police Force increased deployment in the city to maintain law and order. Mirwaiz is also chief cleric of Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid where he delivers weekly sermons. Naseem Geelani works as an assistant professor at an agriculture university.

Criticising the summons issued, former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti tweeted: “Mirwaiz Farooq isn’t any ordinary separatist leader. He is religious & spiritual head to Kash(miri) Muslims. NIA summons to him are emblematic of GOIs repeated assaults on our religious identity. J&K is the proverbial sacrificial lamb exploited to divert attention from real issues.”