Authorities in the India-administered Kashmir have barred Lailatul Qadr prayers at the region's largest mosque in the capital of Srinagar, according to Umar Farooq, its chief preacher.

Lailatul Qadr is the most important night of Ramadan and falls during the last 10 nights of the Muslim holy month.

"Conveyed to Auqaf by authorities that on the highly revered night of Lailatul Qadr, when Muslims around the world supplicate and seek Allah's forgiveness throughout the holy and blessed night, Jamia Masjid Srinagar will be closed to the people and no shab or prayers will be allowed there," Farooq said in a statement on Thursday.

"Regrettably, the insensitivity of those in power will deprive tens of thousands of Muslims who for generations have been visiting Jama Masjid on this night of spiritual solace and worship, causing them and me great grief and dismay," he added.

Decisions to stop prayers or other such decisions usually come directly from the Indian government, which has retained control over the police.

The local government that was elected last year has no say in such decisions, though in the past, pro-India local governments have been complicit in imposing such restrictions.

There was no immediate comment from the central government in India or the office of the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

Since 2019, when the Indian government scrapped the Muslim-majority region's autonomy, Friday prayers have been barred at the Mughal-era mosque for most of the time.

Farooq, who is the chief of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate, is one of the top few pro-freedom leaders who has not been jailed but has been under house arrest for most of the past five years.

New Delhi recently declared unlawful the Awami Action Committee, a religio-educational organisation founded by Umar's family in the early part of the last century.