Jammu and Kashmir Waqf bans collecting donations by trustees at shrines

The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, on Saturday, August 20, staged a massive protest against the decision of the Waqf Board to ban the collecting donations at Muslim shrines across Kashmir.

The Youth Wing of the party raised slogans outside Party Headquarters in Kashmir capital Srinagar.

Later on party senior leader Ali Muhammad Sagar addressed a press conference and termed the decision as undue interference in the religious and traditional practices of people.

He said attempts are being made to malign the image of Muslims. “The Government should not defame the image of Muslims and hurt their sentiments. For centuries, people are offering donations at will without being forced. This is called belief and faith and one has no right to dictate the terms,” he said.

Sagar as per news agency Kashmir News Trust said that everywhere people offer donations. He said Hindus offer donations in temples and Sikhs in Gurudwaras and then why only Muslims are being targeted and a different narrative is being propagated to tarnish the image of respectable citizens.

“If someone is doing wrong, he should be taken to task but it is not fair to defame everyone in the Waqf Board that has so many achievements to its credit,” Sagar said.

“There is nothing like ‘forced donations’ happening at the shrines as the order claims. Everyone who comes to these shrines donates either in cash or kind out of their own free will. The move to ban this age-old practice is not only prejudiced towards the spiritual and religious practices of people but puts a big question mark on the real intentions of the government,” he said.