Kashmir celebrates Meraj-ul-Alam in curfew

Srinagar, Jul 11: Devotees offered prayers at the famous Muslim shrine of Hazratbal in Srinagar.

Devotees converged for peace prayers as a part of Meraj-ul-Alam festival on Saturday, Jul 10.

The number of devotees were less compared to previous years. Srinagar and many other parts of the state are under curfew following widespread incidents of mobs stone pelting at security forces and the killing of more than a dozen protesters.

"We prayed for peace, we prayed for the Kashmiri people. There used to be thousands of people here, but this year I saw there was very little crowd, because the kind of situation which is prevailing in our Kashmir for the past 10 to 15 days," said Amir Ali, a devotee.

"In the morning, 8,000 to 10,000 people read the namaaz and saw the moon, from inside and outside the shrine. Then, devotees kept on coming and read namaaz. Ladies and gents, both came to the shrine, and the entire shrine was full of people," said Ahmad, a devotee.

Prophet Mohammed's Moi-e-Muqaddas (Holy Relic) is housed in the Hazratbal mosque. The Moi-e-Muqaddas is displayed for public viewing on ten occasions in a year, which includes Meraj-ul Alam.

ANI