Srinagar, March 16 Authorities in Kashmir closed the historic Jamia Masjid here on Monday for congregational prayers on the occasion of Shab-e-Qadr, officials said.
The grand mosque in the Nowhatta locality of the city was closed for the night-long Shab-e-Qadr (night of forgiveness) prayers, the officials said.
They said the mosque was closed in view of the apprehensions of law and order problems.
Kashmir's chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was scheduled to attend the night-long prayers at the grand mosque, claimed he was put under house arrest.
Farooq also delivers Friday sermons there.
"On the most sacred night of 'Laylatul Qadr', when prayers and supplications resound in mosques seeking Allah's mercy and forgiveness, the central Jama Masjid Srinagar of Kashmir has once again been closed upon worshippers, and I have been placed under house arrest," Mirwaiz said in a post on X.
"That the rulers fear prayers in a house of God on such a night speaks volumes about their insecurity and the shrinking of space for religious practices," he said.
Oppression and injustice cannot endure forever, he added.