Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq

Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq (born 23 March 1973) is the chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a grassroots coalition of pro-independence secessionist groups in Jammu and Kashmir. He attended Burn Hall School in Srinagar.
As a Mirwaiz (preacher) of Kashmir and head of the 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, Umar Farooq united 23 Kashmiri militant organizations into the APHC. He has constantly tried to raise much awareness about the Kashmir issue internationally. He was also shown among the Asian heroes by the Times magazine. He maintains that dialogue must take place with India and Pakistan, so long as the Kashmiri aspirations are heard as well.
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.

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