SRINAGAR: Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq left for New Delhi on Friday to attend an interaction with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.In a statement issued here, Mirwaiz said following the invitation of the Iranian ambassador to India, he will be attending an interaction with President Pezeshkian, who is in the capital to attend the BRICS Summit.“The interaction of religious leaders, intellectuals and other dignitaries, is being hosted by Iran’s ambassador to India, Dr Mohammad Fathali, which is scheduled to take place in New Delhi later Friday followed by a dinner reception,” the statement said.In March this year, Mirwaiz, Kashmir’s chief cleric, had led a delegation of Kashmiri religious leaders to meet Dr Fathali at the Iranian embassy in New Delhi, where they expressed condolences over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his family members and others and expressed “deep solidarity with the people of Iran.During the meeting, Mirwaiz had highlighted the “deep-rooted cultural, historical and religious ties between Kashmir and Iran,” stating that Kashmir has long been referred to as “Iran-e-Sagheer” (little Iran).After the killing of Khamenei, thousands of people in Kashmir gathered in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and later in Budgam, with crowds stretching several kilometres, to mourn his death. The Valley also witnessed a large-scale donation drive following an appeal by the Iranian embassy, with people contributing cash, gold and even household items, vehicles and livestock.
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Former CM Mehbooba Mufti was the first political figure from J&K to visit the Iranian embassy to express solidarity.Later, on March 10, NC president Dr Farooq Abdullah visited the embassy and signed the condolence book on the “martyrdom of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.”