Srinagar, Dec. 27 -- Chief cleric of the grand mosque in Kashmir, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has removed the tag of "chairman All Party Hurriyat Conference" (APHC) from his verified X account, which he said was done after authorities left him with nothing but "Hobson's choice". Mirwaiz's bio now lists only his name, location, and basic details. After abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, the Hurriyat Conference, which was an amalgam of several separatist organisations, has become defunct with leaders of some groups either in jail or silent. The APHC is almost defunct now as most of its constituents have been declared as banned organisations by the Union ministry of home affairs. Mirwaiz, clarified it on his official handle, saying that he was pressed by authorities to make the change on his official X account which has 232K followers. "For some time now, I was being pressed by the authorities to make changes to my X (formerly Twitter) handle as Hurriyat chairman, as all constituents of Hurriyat Conference, including the Awami Action Committee that I head have been banned under the UAPA, making Hurriyat a banned organisation, failing which they will take down my handle," Mirwaiz wrote on X. He said that at a time when public space and avenues of communication stand severely restricted, this platform remains among the very few means available for him to reach out to his people and share his views on the issues with the people within and the outside world. "Under such circumstances, it is a Hobson's choice I was left to make." "Hobson's choice" means an apparently free choice when there is no real alternative. National Conference chief spokesman and legislator Tanvir Sadiq said that Mirwaiz has said that he was forced to take this decision. "Mirwaiz is a religious scholar and holds tremendous respect among the masses and uses social media to propagate his message on social and religious issues. If he has been forced to take this decision then it's wrong and the government should rethink this issue." PDP legislator, Waheed ur Rehman Parra said that if Mirwaiz Kashmir has removed the APHC tag as an act of peace, it must never be weaponised against him. He said that choosing peace over rigidity is not weakness; it is leadership "Mirwaiz has acted within the framework of law and circumstances. Those attacking and trolling him for this decision are deliberately trying to undermine him, making his path harder despite the extraordinary challenges he has endured and the supreme sacrifice of his father. Such attacks do not serve justice or peace, they only deepen division," he said in a statement. Mirwaiz also heads the Awami Action Committee (AAC) which has already been banned by the Centre for their alleged anti-national activities, supporting terrorism and fuelling secessionist activities. Kashmir's chief cleric and Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest, stopping him from offering congregational prayers at the Jamia Masjid here on Friday, his officesaid. "Authorities have once again placed Mirwaiz Kashmir under house arrest today, preventing him from going to the historic Jama Masjid, Srinagar, to deliver the sermon and offer Friday prayers," Mirwaiz Manzil, the office of the religious-political leader, said in a post on X....