Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Mirwaiz Muhammad Omar Farooq (born 23 March 1973) is the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grassroots coalition of pro-Pakistan secessionist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. He attended Burn Hall School in Srinagar.

A Mirwaiz(preacher) of Kashmir and head of the Omar faction of Hurriyet he has both an important religious and political role in the politics of the Valley.

Placed on the stage at the age of 17, following the assassination of his father, Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq,then the leader of Awami Action Committee, Omar Farooq united 23 Kashmiri militant organizations into the APHC. He maintains that dialogue must take place with India and Pakistan, so long as the Kashmiri aspirations are heard as well.

After joining of Shabir Shah with Omar Farooq's Hurriyet recently, the Mirwaiz has grown into a more powerful political entity with his moderate secessionist stand. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who heads the Geelani faction of Hurriyet, remains his biggest competitor.

Mirwaiz is the term for the traditional leader of Muslims in Kashmir. He inherited the title as the 12th Mirwaiz and was the founder chairman of the Hurriyat in 1993. Before he began an active career in Kashmir politics, he nurtured the ambition to become a software engineer. He holds a master's degree in Islamic studies.

He has attempted to bridge the gap between his faction and that of hardliner separatist organisation of Syed Ali Shah Geelani. This effort was a precursor to his visit to Pakistani Kashmir and Islamabad in June this year.

His pakistan visit saw a major change in his approach to the Kashmir issue. He announced that the United Nations has failed the Kashmiri people. Till January this year, he had maintained his belief in an UN sponsored resolution of the problem.

External Links

• Kashmiri Separatist Seeks End To Armed Struggle