No Friday prayers in historic Jamia masjid
Srinagar, Mar 15 : No Friday prayer was offered on the second consecutive week in historic Jamia masjid and some other mosques in the Kashmir valley, where indefinite curfew remained imposed as a precautionary measure.
Friday prayers were however, offered in Hazratbal shrine, which houses the Holy Relic of Prophet Muhammad and other mosques in the interior areas of Srinagar.
Separatist leaders including chairmen of both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq besides Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yaseen Malik also remained confined in their homes because of their house arrest. However, there was also curfew in the valley.
All the gates of Jamia Masjid remained closed with a large number of security force and state police personnel remains deployed outside.
We were not allowed to enter the masjid complex, the nearby residents alleged.
This is the fourth time no Friday prayers could be offered in the Jamia masjid since Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged in Delhi's Tihar jail on February 9 because of curfew restrictions.
No Friday prayers could be offered in Imambara Badgam in the central Kashmir for the second week today.
Senior separatist leader and president of the Anjuman Sharia-e-Shian Aga Syed Hassan said that due to restrictions no prayers could be offered in the Imambara.
However, he said, he remained under house arrest and was not allowed to offer Friday prayers in the mosque for the past about two months.
People living on both sides of Nallahmar and other main roads in curfew bound areas alleged that they were not allowed to go to mosques. However, they said prayers were offered in the interior areas.
Friday prayers were held in Hazratbal though the number of devotees was very less as only nearby residents could join the prayers.