SRINAGAR: Hurriyat Conference chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was allowed to deliver the Friday sermon at Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid after two weeks, and he used the occasion to ask the J&K administration to desist from preventing people from exercising their fundamental rights with regard to religious practices.In a statement issued after the prayers, Mirwaiz, who was placed under house arrest on the past two Fridays, said: “Repeatedly preventing me from coming to the Jamia Masjid on Fridays is completely uncalled for. It is a direct interference in the religious rights of people, which alienates them further, serving no other purpose.”Such restrictions “don’t change historical facts”, he asserted.Authorities had barred Mirwaiz Farooq from leading the Friday prayers earlier this month, allegedly to stop him from making any reference to the killing of 22 people during an uprising against Maharaja Hari Singh on July 13, 1931, in his sermon. The date holds historical significance in Kashmir.“I have always asked that people be allowed to freely practice their fundamental rights, which includes the right to offer prayers and listen to Friday sermons,” Mirwaiz said. “I hope these arbitrary restraints are stopped, and I am allowed to visit Jamia Masjid without hindrance.”In his sermon, he also focused on the situation in Palestine and expressed solidarity “with the oppressed people of Gaza”. “We gather here in peace, but our hearts bleed for our brothers and sisters in Gaza, who are facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and starvation. Innocent civilians, especially children, are being relentlessly bombarded even as they search for food and safety. Starvation is being used as a weapon of war,” he said.Since his release in Sept 2023, after being under house arrest for four years following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Mirwaiz has frequently faced restrictions, with police often detaining him at home on Fridays without offering any explanation.