Moulvi Mohammad Farooq | |
Mirwaiz-i-Kashmir | |
Religion: | Islam |
Death Date: | 21 May 1990 |
Death Cause: | Assassination |
Successor1: | Mirwaiz Umar Farooq |
Children: | 2, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq |
Office1: | Mirwaiz of Kashmir |
Term Start1: | 1968 |
Predecessor1: | Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah |
Term End1: | 21 May 1990 |
Resting Place: | Mazar-e-Shuhada (martyr's graveyard), Eidgah Srinagar |
Mohammad Farooq Shah commonly known as Mirwaiz Moluvi Mohammad Farooq was the Mirwaiz of his time in Kashmirnorth of India and chairman of All Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee, a coalition of disparate political parties in Jammu and Kashmir that sought resolution of the Kashmir conflict.[1] [2]
Shah was assassinated on 21 May 1990 by gunmen at his residence at Nageen, Srinagar. His funeral procession, witnessed the bloodshed (known as Hawal massacre) near the Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar, wherein 72 people, including four women, were killed; his body was dropped in the middle of the road. This roused public sentiment and gave leverage to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's political work in the valley.[3]
Hizbul Mujahideen militant Mohammad Ayub Dar was convicted for the murder and Supreme Court of India upheld the conviction in 2010.[4]
Jammu and Kashmir Police on 16 May 2023, claimed to have achieved a major breakthrough into the assassination case of Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq by arresting two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants who were "evading arrest for over three decades".[5]
In the press briefing, the police said the arrested militants also includes the one who had entered into the bedroom of late Mirwaiz and opened fire at him.