Srinagar, Jun 10: Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid termed the closure of historic Jamia Masjid for the Friday prayers today as unfortunate.

“Once again, authorities did not allow Friday prayers at the Jama Masjid Srinagar and locked it down, turning away men and women who had come to offer Friday prayers at the Masjid, which is very unfortunate. This morning police personnel came to Jama Masjid and closed the gates of the mosque and informed the Auqaf   that no Friday prayers will be allowed today,” Anjuman Auqaf said in a statement.

People, especially elders, women and youth from far and wide come to this historic mosque; and finding the Masjid repeatedly locked down by authorities causes them a lot of grief, Anjuman said, adding that its head Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Moulvi Umar Farooq, is also kept under continuous house arrest, and not allowed to deliver sermon at the mosque.