Attendees at the conference of ‘Muslim religious’ leaders were made to take off their Pheran in order to get an entry into a day-long conference of Muslim religious leaders Organized by Jammu Kashmir Nationalist People’s Front was held at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar today On 23rd March (that also happens to be Pakistan Day).
Some journalists were also barred from entering the venue, according to Srinagar-based Journalist, Azaan Shah, who also posted a video of the incident on his Twitter.
As per the Journalist people were directed to remove their Pheran- the traditional Kashmiri wear as a part of the security measure before entering the venue where religious clerics and the Lietenant Governer Manoj Sinha addressed the gathering along with a few clerics.
Participants for the "Muslim religious leaders" conference at #Srinagar being directed to remove their #pheran as part of security measures. #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/CMF2ckFBig
— Azaan Javaid (@AzaanJavaid) March 23, 2021
The attendees of the event had been told that “On 23rd March (that also happens to be Pakistan Day), prominent Muslim religious leaders are gathering in Srinagar to discuss peace in J&K, modernization of madrassa education, religious extremism and the need of deradicalization etc.”
The controversy over the Pheran started this year on February 19, two policemen were killed after being shot at close range by a militant in the Baghat area of uptown Srinagar, along the high-security Airport Road.
After the attack, Rashtriya Bajrang Dal has demanded a ban on the wearing of Pheran in Jammu and Kashmir.
Bajrang Dal alleged that pheran was being misused by militants to carry out attacks on government forces.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has endorsed the demand for pheran ban in Jammu and Kashmir. BJP spokesperson from Jammu, Abhijeet Jasrotia while talking to a national news channel said that these traditional dresses have been misused by ‘terrorists’ to hide grenades etc under it.
“Our soldiers can not differentiate between a normal person wearing this traditional dress and somebody who is carrying arms under this dress. So it should be banned in public spaces or offices,” the Bajrang Dal had said.
The Pheran ban controversy had earlier been stoked when a Zonal Education Officer Langate Agha Abdul Rashid passed an order in 2018 that read, “All the officers visiting this office are advised to visit with proper dress. It is recommended that no official will visit the office wearing ‘feral’ traditional trousers and slippers/plastic.”
The order was later revoked.