Srinagar- Political parties in Kashmir have strongly opposed the amendments to the Waqf Act, calling it an interference in religious matters and an attempt to disempower Muslims.
The Union Minority Affairs Minister, Kiren Rijiju, on Wednesday tabled the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha, claiming it aims to improve the management of Waqf properties by enhancing transparency and introducing technology-driven governance. However, opposition leaders have slammed the Bill, calling it “unconstitutional” and harmful to the Muslim community.
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti alleged that the Bill was designed to weaken Muslims politically and economically.
“This Bill is meant to disempower Muslims. I have no expectations from the BJP—we have seen for the past decade how Muslims are lynched and mosques demolished. But I urge secular forces, especially our Hindu brethren, to step forward. India is the land of Gandhi, and it should be governed by the Constitution,” Mehbooba said.
She warned that if such laws continue unchecked, the country risks heading toward a Myanmar-like situation.
“They (Hindus) must act now if they do not want India to become another Myanmar, if they do not want the same fate for Muslims as what happened to Kashmiri Pandits. People must rise against this injustice and the takeover of the Waqf Board,” she added.
People’s Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone also voiced his opposition, calling the amendments a direct attack on religious autonomy.
“Waqf is meant to manage properties collectively owned by Muslims. This amendment is a blatant interference in our faith, aimed at stripping rightful custodians of their authority. Yet another right-wing trespass,” Lone said in a post on X.
National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah reiterated his party’s opposition, arguing that the amendments unfairly single out one religious community.
“Every faith has its own charitable institutions. For Muslims, it is the Waqf. Targeting it in this manner is extremely unfortunate. We cannot support this Bill, and our MPs will strongly oppose it in Parliament,” Abdullah said.
However, BJP leader Darakhshan Andrabi welcomed the amendments, questioning why Waqf properties had not benefited ordinary Muslims.
“Waqf owns thousands of kanals of land, yet most Muslims remain poor, homeless, and landless. The government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is addressing these issues to uplift the community,” Andrabi said.
The Waqf Bill, which proposes major structural changes, including increased government oversight, has sparked a heated debate. While the BJP argues that it will bring much-needed reforms, opposition parties see it as yet another attempt to curb the rights of the Muslim community.
Muslim Organisations’ Concerns Not Addressed: Mirwaiz
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is also the chief priest of Jammu and Kashmir, expressed disappointment on Wednesday that the Joint Parliamentary Committee tasked with looking into the Waqf (Amendment) Bill had not addressed even one concern of the Muslim scholars from the Union Territory.
“As one watches the ruling party defend the indefensible Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament, it is very unfortunate and disturbing that not even one of the serious concerns and reservations raised by Muslim organisations, including the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) which I lead, before the JPC in New Delhi, was addressed by them,” the mirwaiz said in a post on X.
He said crores of Muslims in India are haplessly watching their rights and institutions being undermined.
“Today, crores of Muslims in India, like mute spectators, are haplessly watching their rights and institutions being blatantly undermined and feel greatly let down,” he said.
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