Srinagar, Jan 01: Condemning the Jamia Masjid pulpit incident, a traders’ body in Kashmir on Tuesday called for a “collective strategy to foil such nefarious designs”.
In a statement, the Kashmir Economic Alliance (KEA) condemned the attempts of several masked youth to desecrate the historic mosque in Nowhatta area of downtown Srinagar.
Yasin Khan, who heads the KEA and Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation (KTMF), said Jamia Masjid is the pride of Ummah in general and Kashmir in particular and that its desecration wouldn’t be tolerated.
He appealed to the political leadership and the civil society to rise to the occasion. “There’s a need to come up with a collective strategy to foil such nefarious designs that are aimed at maligning the just cause,” Khan said in the statement.
A group of masked young men stormed into the mosque with IS flags and created a ruckus on Friday, provoking condemnation from the mosque’s management committee as well as political leaders.
The incident occurred after the congregational prayers, when the mosque was nearly empty. The men were chased away by the devotees present there. A video of the incident went viral on the social media the next day.
