I meet you on the first Friday of the year not in Jama Masjid, as the Mirwaiz should, but on social media, as I have once again been put under arrest!

As another year begins and we look forward to it, painful memories of 2025 stay with us.
It was a year marked by tragedy and… pic.twitter.com/3ZmMq7P0sX

— Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) January 2, 2026

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Highlighting the tragedies of the Pahalgam attack and the Delhi blast last year, he said these incidents “shook us deeply” and emphasised that they were condemned by everyone in the Valley. He mentioned the cross-border hostilities in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack and said it was “a stark reminder of how fragile peace in the region continues to be”.

Referring to the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, Mirwaiz said that despite making “unilateral changes” in 2019, “The reality is that the Kashmir conflict continues to keep the region in an unsettled state that can erupt anytime. That is why wars are paused, not ended, and dialogue finds no takers.”

Beyond these incidents in which he said Kashmiris find themselves at the receiving end of suspicion and attacks in parts of India, “The trust deficit between them and New Delhi has widened, not shrunk.”

He also underlined that an “enforced silence is projected as acquiescence” and pointed out that “an elected government of a UT complains of being powerless”.

Mirwaiz said that a sense of hopelessness prevails, along with an “existential crisis” of losing one’s identity through demographic change since the state was downgraded to a Union Territory, constitutional guarantees were withdrawn, and rules and laws were tweaked.

“The year also witnessed the banning of the Awami Action Committee — a socio-political institution that reached out to people in need, advocating peace, dialogue and resolution — along with Ittihadul Muslimeen, which were part of the Hurriyat Conference,” he said, adding that much of that space has now been extinguished. “Today, we are operating in an environment where any expression of views contrary to the State, or any disagreement, is increasingly criminalised, branded as ‘anti-national’ and penalised,” he said.

He said he does not have the “privilege” of addressing press conferences or moving about without getting official clearance, and that his access to the pulpit of the Jamia Masjid is also curtailed.

On removing Hurriyat references from social media

Last week, Mirwaiz had made a statement asserting that he was being pressured by “authorities” to make changes to his social media and remove references to the Hurriyat. Addressing the criticism on the move, he said, “As Hurriyat constituents are banned under UAPA, displaying the title would be considered illegal and the platforms barred to me — I was left with little choice but to safeguard the minimal channel of communication available to me or face the risk of complete silencing.”

He said that with constituents of the Hurriyat banned, all offices sealed, institutions closed, and leaders and activists either in jails or under constant surveillance, social media remains the only platform that allows him to have a voice and opportunity to connect with people and the outside world.

“Let me make it clear, my beliefs and convictions have not changed — not even by a comma,” he said.

“Some have criticised this move as a compromise. To them I say, how and for what? They make a strange argument — for being provided security. But it was provided to me since the day of my father’s martyrdom 35 years ago. If I did not compromise for it since then, why should I compromise now?”

He said that in the past, he had “engaged with the leadership of the subcontinent and successive Indian leaders — including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Shri L K Advani — in sincere efforts of dialogue. My path remains the same.”

Describing Kashmiris as “natural optimists”, he said that dialogue has worked elsewhere and “our hope remains alive”.