SRINAGAR: Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chief cleric of Kashmir and a moderate separatist voice in the Valley, has removed the designation “Chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference” from his verified X (formerly Twitter) profile.
The change was noticed on Thursday evening, when his bio was edited to display only his name and location details. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has over two lakh followers on the social media platform.
The Mirwaiz, whose organisation — the Awami Action Committee — has been banned by the Centre under stringent anti-terror laws, was not available for comment on the development.
Formed in 1993, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) emerged as a conglomerate of separatist groups in Jammu and Kashmir and once wielded considerable influence, including the ability to coordinate mass shutdowns and political mobilisation across the Valley.
Over the past decade, however, the organisation’s influence has steadily declined due to internal divisions and sustained action by the Centre against separatist networks. The crackdown intensified after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, following which most constituent organisations of the APHC were banned.
Several senior Hurriyat leaders have since been arrested or booked under stringent laws, while others have withdrawn completely from public and political activity, further weakening the umbrella group.
