Dr. Mohammad Umar Farooq (born 23 March 1973) is a hereditary Kashmiri religious and political leader who is the chairman of the Awami Action Committee and of one of the two key factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grassroots coalition of pro-Pakistan and pro independence parties in Jammu & Kashmir. As the Mirwaiz (Mir-Head; Waiz-Priest) of Kashmir and chairman of the Hurriyat Conference has both an important religious and political role in the Kashmir Valley. At the age of 17, following the assassination of his father by unknown gunmen, Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq, the leader of Awami Action Committee, Umar Farooq united 23 Kashmiri Pro Pakistan and/or pro independence organizations into the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). He has constantly tried to raise much awareness about the Kashmir issue internationally. He was also shown among the Asian Heroes by the Times magazine.[1][2] He maintains that dialogue must take place with India and Pakistan, so long as the Kashmiri aspirations are heard as well. He inherited as the 14th Mirwaiz (Kashmiri term for traditional preacher of Muslims in Kashmir) in 1990. Before joining the pro-Pakistan Kashmir politics, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was an alumnus of the prestigious Burn Hall School in Srinagar, he had interests in computers and he wanted to become a software engineer. But fate had something else in store for this man, who became the founder-chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference at the age of 20. He also holds a PhD. in Islamic Studies from Kashmir University. Sarah Hayat Shah Omer Firdous Mir Iqbal Journalist Preeti Joshi Javeed Kakroo Gm Sidiqi Basharat Ali Darakhshan Andrabi Faiyaz Dilbar Sanju Raina Mehraj Sufi Barik Hilal Degloo Zafar Iqbal Manhas
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 10:59:17 +0000
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