Faced Personal Tragedies, Yet Advocated Peace; Calling AAC a Threat Unjustified, Ban Should Be Revoked: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Srinagar, Mar 21: In his first public address after Ministry of Home Affairs banned the Awami Action Committee (AAC), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday while calling for revoking of the ban said that despite facing personal tragedies, including the assassination of his father Shaheed-e-Millat, the AAC has consistently promoted peace, dialogue, and unity, making the allegations behind the ban not only strange but unjustified.

Addressing the Friday congregation at Jama Masjid Srinagar, Mirwaiz said, “Those who suffered personal tragedies yet practiced patience and called for peace are now being accused of creating unrest. These accusations ignore our party’s long history of advocating restraint, unity, and dialogue.”

He highlighted that more than a century ago, Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah (RA) laid the foundation for political awareness among repressed Kashmiris, a mission carried forward by his father, who formed the AAC in 1964 after the Moi Muqaddas agitation. “Shaheed-e-Millat’s vision was to empower people through social, educational, and religious reforms, especially focusing on women’s education and their rights,” Mirwaiz said.

He recalled that even in moments of personal tragedy, like his father’s assassination, “as a 16-year-old boy, I stood atop the truck carrying my father’s body, pleading for calm, when emotions could have led to civil bloodshed. We the family and AAC leaders showed tremendous patience and restraint.”

“My father reached out to rivals in 1983 for unity and peace. He even went against the tide by telling the then Delhi government to talk to the armed youth in Kashmir to find a resolution. He publicly condemned the abduction of a young woman on national media, calling it cowardly and un-Islamic,” Mirwaiz said.

He questioned, “Is an organization founded by such a man who advocated dialogue and unity a threat to law and order?”

Mirwaiz urged the Government of India to revoke the ban on the AAC, emphasizing that “AAC has always pursued peaceful outreach, dialogue, and resolution. Those who advocate dialogue cannot be deemed subversive.”