Mohammad Farooq Shah commonly known as Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Farooq was the

Mirwaiz Mirwaiz (, from ''mir'', chief and ''waiz'', preacher) is a hereditary institution of head priests that is unique to the Kashmir Valley. The traditional role of mirwaizes is to provide religious education in the shrines and mosques. Over time, th ...

of his time in

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

and chairman of All Jammu and Kashmir Awami Action Committee, a coalition of disparate political parties in

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

that sought resolution of the

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, and also between China and India in the northeastern portion of the region. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1 ...

. Shah was assassinated on 21 May 1990 by gunmen at his residence at Nageen, Srinagar. His funeral procession passed by the bloodshed near the

Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar The Islamia College of Science and Commerce, Srinagar (commonly referred to as Islamia College or ICSC) is a University Grants Commission Autonomous College, and accredited as A grade by National Assessment and Accreditation Council, in the st ...

, 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. In 2010, more than 20 years after the assasination of Shah, a

Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahidin (, ), is a Pakistan-based Islamist separatist militant organisation that has been engaged in the Kashmir insurgency since 1989. It aims to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakist ...

militant Mohammad Ayub Dar was convicted. The Supreme Court of India upheld the conviction. On 16 May 2023, Jammu and Kashmir Police announced a major breakthrough into the Shah assassination case by arresting two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants (Javaid Bhat and Zahoor Ahmed Bhat) who were "evading arrest for over three decades".Two Hizb militants arrested for Mirwaiz Moulvi Farooq’s assassination
The Kashmir Pulse, 16 May 2023. In a press briefing, the police said the arrested militants included the one who had entered into the bedroom of late Mirwaiz and opened fire at him.

References

1990 deaths Kashmiri people People murdered in Jammu and Kashmir Kashmir separatist movement Year of birth missing 1990 murders in India Asian politicians assassinated in the 1990s Indian politicians assassinated in the 20th century Politicians assassinated in 1990 {{JammuKashmir-politician-stub

See also

References