New Delhi: Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Friday (August 14) that he had been placed under house arrest and questioned the authorities’ belief in their own “normalcy” narrative. He alleged that he was being prevented from going to Jama Masjid on the eve of Rabi-ul-Awwal.“Placed under house arrest yet again, on the eve of the blessed month of Rabi-ul-Awwal. The repeated and arbitrary restrictions imposed on Fridays are highly condemnable. If the authorities themselves do not trust their own narrative of “normalcy” enough to repeatedly prevent me from going to Jama Masjid, what credibility does that narrative have?” he wrote on X.“It is the second consecutive Juma I have been disallowed,” he said. No official reason for today’s restriction has been given so far.Mirwaiz also shared screengrab of CCTV footages showing security personnel outside the gate of his residence in Nigeen locality of Srinagar.Mirwaiz of Kashmir Umar Farooq shared this photo on his X account on Friday, August 14, 2026.Rabi-ul-Awwal is the third month of the Islamic calendar and is significant for Muslims across the world since the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad is commemorated on the 12th of this month.The Mirwaiz of Kashmir is scheduled to address a religious gathering at Khanqah-e-Naqshband Sahib in Srinagar on August 17, for the Khwaja Digar gathering. It is unclear if he will remain confined through the Rabi-ul-Awwal observances.Since being released from nearly four years under house arrest since August 2019, Mirwaiz has repeatedly been allowed to resume his role at Jama Masjid and then prevented from doing so, especially on Fridays. His principal religious role is associated with delivering the Friday sermon at the mosque.In April 2025, he was barred from the mosque on Fridays repeatedly. He described the restrictions as “arbitrary house arrest” and said he was being prevented from carrying out his religious responsibilities.In March 2025 as well, he was placed under house arrest ahead of Eid and Jama Masjid was closed for Eid prayers. He had then questioned how this squared with official claims of “normalcy” in Kashmir.In September 2024, he had similarly been placed under house arrest on a Friday, with authorities reportedly putting a vehicle outside his gate.During Ramzan in March this year, he was stopped from reaching Jama Masjid for three consecutive Fridays. On March 20, he alleged that police vehicles and a large contingent had been positioned outside his residence and that access to the surrounding lanes had been blocked with concertina wire, blocking traffic movement.Since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the Union government has repeatedly presented Jammu and Kashmir as having returned to peace, stability and normalcy.