Days after they found common ground in opposing Tantra event, Mehbooba Mufti meets Mirwaiz Umar

The meeting came days after Mirwaiz, while responding to Mufti's call, demanded an immediate ban on a 'Tantra' event planned in Gurez. (Express file photo)

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti met Valley’s chief cleric and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at his residence on Sunday.

The meeting came days after Mirwaiz, while responding to Mufti’s call, demanded an immediate ban on a ‘Tantra’ event planned in Gurez.

“Yes, Mehbooba ji visited me today. It was a good interaction,” Mirwaiz told The Indian Express.

“We had a conversation around the social, cultural and societal concerns and challenges facing us, and the need to address them in a concerted manner, taking all the stakeholders along,” he added. Mirwaiz said the two leaders also discussed the “prevailing political situation in Jammu and Kashmir in some detail”.

Sources said that on Sunday afternoon, Mufti drove to Mirwaiz’s residence at Nageen in Srinagar. They said the meeting was part of Mufti’s planned series of meetings with prominent religious leaders.

“This is part of her series of follow-up interactions with Kashmir’s youth, scholars, women, stakeholders, artists, and social and political activists,” a senior PDP leader told The India Express.

“She has been raising concerns on a range of issues through opinion pieces and informal interactions with young people. The objective of this meeting was to take up issues at all concerned levels. Mirwaiz sahib was apprised of the social issues currently facing Kashmir,” the leader added.

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Over the last several months, Mirwaiz, who delivers Friday sermons at Srinagar’s grand mosque, has been regularly raising social issues and concerns, including drug abuse.

In fact, a fortnight ago, the Muttahida Majlis Ulama (MMU), an amalgam of Muslim religious bodies across the spectrum, decided to broaden the conversations beyond the matter of faith. It decided that the Valley mosques will now take up issues closer to the community, including drug addiction, suicide, self harm and environmental degradation.

Rare convergence

The meeting between Mirwaiz and Mufti, for the first time in recent years, is significant as this is a rare convergence of mainstream and separatist political leaders in the Valley. It is also important as it was during Mufti’s reign in 2016 that Mirwaiz was arrested and shifted to Cheshma Shahi huts that were designated as a sub jail.

The meeting comes four months after Mirwaiz, in a rare instance, shared the stage with mainstream political leaders at a book launch in Srinagar. The book release ceremony of noted neurologist Dr Sushil Razdan was also attended by former CM and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, BJP leader Ashok Koul, former union minister and Congress leader Saif-ud-din Soz, J&K Assembly speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, and former minister and PDP leader Naeem Akhtar.

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The Sunday meeting comes a week after Mirwaiz responded to Mufti’s call over a controversial event being organised at Gurez on the Line of Control. “The concern raised by @MehboobaMufti deserves immediate attention! That this kind of program is being allowed in Gurez in Kashmir, when a similar programme by this organisation was cancelled by police in Goa, due to public outrage over its obscene promotional details, is outrageous!” Mirwaiz said while responding to Mufti’s call for intervention.

Though the meeting between Mirwaiz and Mufti is significant, it is not the first time that a mainstream political leader has visited him. In September 2023, senior BJP leader and Waqf Board chairperson Darakshan Andrabi also visited Mirwaiz at his home to discuss the fallout of her controversial plan to build a cancer hospital at Srinagar’s Eidgah grounds.

© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd

Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter. Expertise and Experience Two Decades of Frontline Reporting: Bashaarat has spent 20 years documenting the evolution of Kashmir, from high-intensity conflict and political shifts to socio-economic development. Award-Winning Investigative Journalism: He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2012). This honor was bestowed for his reporting on the Pathribal fake encounter, a series of stories that highlighted his ability to handle sensitive human rights and security issues with investigative rigor. Specialized Beats: His authoritative coverage spans: Political Transitions: Tracking the shift from statehood to Union Territory, electoral dynamics, and the pulse of local governance. Security & Conflict: Providing nuanced reporting on counter-insurgency, civil liberties, and the impact of the conflict on the civilian population. Development: Documenting the infrastructure, healthcare, and educational landscape within the Valley. Academic Background: He holds a Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir, providing him with a localized academic and professional foundation that is rare in regional reporting. ... Read More