In his first Friday sermon after the Centre banned the Awami Action Committee (AAC) on March 11, Kashmir’s chief priest Mirwaiz Umar Farooq termed the action “harsh and uncalled for” and sought an immediate revocation of the order. Addressing the gathering after Friday prayers at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, the Mirwaiz said that “generic allegations made against AAC in the ban order are not only strange but also ironic”. The Hurriyat chairman said that the AAC has always advocated for the politics of outreach, dialogue and resolution. “How can those who advocate dialogue be subversive.? Dialogue in itself means seeking solutions and resolving disagreements by talking in good faith and peace. When Vajpayee ji or Advani ji or Manmohan Singh ji were talking to us, it was in good faith,” he said. Emphasising that he “kept up the good faith” and despite all odds advocated for peaceful engagement, Mirwaiz said that “it is a different thing that the present ruling dispensation in New Delhi has a different take on the issue, but that does not make AAC an ‘unlawful association’.” The AAC was formed as a political, social and religious organisation by the late Mirwaiz . In his sermon, he also expressed gratitude to the people, parties and organisations including from the Kashmiri Pandits and Sikh communities who condemned the ban on the AAC.
