Srinagar, July 18: A fresh political row has erupted after National Conference leader Sajad Kitchloo demanded that Jamia Masjid Kishtwar be removed from the administrative control of the Wakf Board, prompting a sharp response from BJP leader Jahanzaib Sirwal.
In a statement on Friday, Sirwal accused Kitchloo of misleading the Muslim community with “divisive rhetoric” and urged him to stop acting as their “self-proclaimed guardian.”
Sirwal alleged that Kitchloo’s remarks on Jamia Masjid Kishtwar and Islamia Faridia School were aimed at stirring communal sentiments and deflecting accountability.
“Today, he says the mosque and school were built with public contributions and that only the Muslim community should decide their Waqf status. But when his father, late Bashir Ahmad Kitchloo, as a minister, transferred these assets to the Wakf Board, was the community consulted?” Sirwal questioned.
He further termed Kitchloo’s statement as a desperate attempt by a leader “frustrated by his growing irrelevance and diminished control over Wakf affairs.”
The controversy comes amid ongoing discussions about Wakf Board oversight and community participation in managing religious properties in Jammu and Kashmir.
