The 20-month long preventive detention of Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, also head priest of the Valley, has come to an end, top officials in Srinagar said.

“The Mirwaiz is not under any detention,” a senior official told The Hindu.

A Hurriyat spokesman, however, said the decision of the release has not been officially conveyed to the Mirwaiz so far.

Sources said the Mirwaiz may be allowed to deliver Friday sermons at historic Jamia Masjid this week. It would be for the first time since August 4, 2019 that the Mirwaiz may resume his religious duties.

Sources said the likely release of the Mirwaiz is a seen as a confidence building measure coming in the backdrop of the thaw between India and Pakistan.

The government move also comes ahead of the auspicious Islamic occasion of Mehraj-e-Alam, which falls on March 11.

Of late, there has been growing demand from the religious and civil society organisations to release the Mirwaiz. Jammu and Kashmir Civil Society Forum head Abdul Qayoom Wani has also demanded his release for the Mehraj-e-Alam.

“he holy and glorious month of Rajab is in vogue. The Mirwaiz has always enlightened the people on its philosophy,” Mr. Wani said.

Moulana Ahmad Sayeed Naqshbandi Imam Hai, vice-president of the Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid, a body that runs the historic Jamia Masjid, has termed the Mirwaiz’s detention as “ttempt to curb his religious, social and other activities”.

“He has been prevented him from delivering Friday sermon at the Valley’s largest religious and spiritual place, Jama Masjid, for the last 81 weeks,” Mr. Hai said.