'Violence Thrives Where Dialogue is Absent'

Across the Valley, people mourned with silent prayers and spontaneous vigils after the terrorist attack at Pahalgam

- Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

WHEN I stepped onto the pulpit of Srinagar’s Jama Masjid this Friday, it was a moment filled with sorrow and reflection. The day coincided with the Islamic date marking the martyrdom of my father, Shaheed Mirwaiz Molvi Mohammad Farooq, who thirty-six years ago fell to the bullets of assassins for standing for peace, dialogue and resolution. As someone who has personally suffered the pain of losing a parent at the young age of 16, the horrifying carnage in Pahalgam touched me deeply.

It had been over a month since I was last allowed to enter Jama Masjid. Repeated restrictions by authorities on prayers and sermons—they wound the spirit of a community that seeks guidance from its sacred spaces. Yet despite these obstacles, when I returned on Friday, my heart was burdened more by the grief that has deeply touched us all.