SRINAGAR: Following the brutal killing of tourists in Pahalgam, Kashmir’s prominent religious and political leader, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has strongly condemned the incident and called for a peaceful shutdown across the Valley on April 22, 2025.
In a heartfelt post on X, Mirwaiz quoted the Holy Quran, stating:
“Whoever kills an innocent soul…it is as if he had slain mankind entirely”
﴿مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ…فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا﴾ (Al Quran)
Calling the incident “another day of carnage in the blood-soaked history of Kashmir,” Mirwaiz expressed deep sorrow over the gruesome killing of visiting tourists, noting that such brutality stands in direct contradiction to the principles of Islam and humanity.
“The hapless people of Kashmir know the pain and grief of such tragedies for those who lost their loved ones today,” he wrote. “Such gruesomeness is abhorred in Islam, which is essentially a religion of peace and goodwill, and against all human ethics.”
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved families, Mirwaiz said that the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) — a conglomerate of religious scholars and clerics — appeals to the people of Jammu and Kashmir to observe a complete, peaceful shutdown on Tuesday in protest of this heinous crime.
The call for a shutdown is intended as a symbolic gesture of mourning and unity against violence, with appeals for peace and restraint across the Valley.
Security forces remain on high alert, and an investigation is ongoing to bring the perpetrators of the attack to justice. The killings have sparked widespread condemnation from across the political and religious spectrum.
