Expressing "serious and deep concern" over the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, Jammu and Kashmir Mutahida Malis-E-Uleme (MMU) patron Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said the proposed changes represent a significant threat to the autonomy and functioning of the Waqf. In a written submission to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the MMU said the collector has been given absolute power to change the nature of the Waqf properties into "government properties" by "simply" passing orders and changing the entries in the revenue record. The Mirwaiz, who is also the chairman of the separatist grouping Hurriyat Conference, said in the submission that the "arbitrary powers" given to the collector regarding both disputed and undisputed Waqf properties give him immense control over them. "This action seeks to undermine the very purpose of the Waqf Act, which is to protect and preserve the properties dedicated to religious and charitable purposes by the ...