Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been conferred doctorate for research on political thought in Islam as perceived by saint Mir Syed Ali Hamdani.
 
"I am thankful to all the people who directly or indirectly helped me achieve the feat," Mirwaiz told PTI today.
 
The doctorate (Phd) was conferred upon Mirwaiz by the University of Kashmir yesterday for his thesis Mir Syed Ali Hamdanis Dhakriratul Muluk: An Annotation and Translation, a Hurriyat spokesperson said.
 
The Hurriyat chairman, who took five years to complete the thesis and even learnt Persian in the process, credited his mother for motivating him to pursue higher studies.
 
Mirwaiz was still in school when he became the first chairman of the Hurriyat in 1993 -- three years after his father, Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq was killed by militants.
 
Despite being a full time politician, Mirwaiz continued his studies and has already got 'Moulvi Fazil' and 'Moulvi Alim' from an Islamic Seminary.