By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday paid tribute to prominent Kashmiri youth leader Burhan Wani on the fifth martyrdom anniversary.
“We pay tribute to his selfless contribution to the just struggle for right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people, and through him to the oppressed people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK),” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
It said Burhan Wani, through his sacrifice, has come to rightly symbolize the indigenous Kashmiri struggle against the illegal Indian occupation. Since his martyrdom in 2016, hundreds of Kashmiri youth have lost their lives at the hands of Indian occupation forces in IIOJK, it added.
“This day should serve as a reminder to India to end its egregious human rights violations in IIOK, and take concrete steps towards resolution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute as per the UNSC resolutions. We also call upon the int’l community to play its due role in this regard,” the Foreign Office said.
Meanwhile, Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Ali Amin Khan Gandapur Thursday paid tribute to Burhan Wani. “Burhan has given a new life to the Kashmir independence movement by sacrificing his life and now has become a symbol of freedom and courage for the Kashmiri people, ” the minister said in a message on his fifth martyrdom anniversary being observed on both sides of the Line of Control on July 08.
Gandapur said world must stop Indian brutalities as the atrocities of the occupying forces were increasing day by day in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IoJ&K) and thousands of Kashmiris were being killed in fake encounters.
India must acknowledge its defeat in front of the determination and courage of Kashmiri youth as it did not oppress their freedom struggle despite tyranny and barbarism, he said. He appealed to the international community and the UN to unleash their preventive diplomacy to redeem the right of self determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Separately, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi Thursday said that Burhan Muzaffar Wani is an icon of Kashmiri resistance as he relives in every Kashmiri’s heart which cements resolve of Kashmiris to fight for freedom. He was addressing a seminar held here on the martyrdom day of Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani held here under the auspices of Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR).
All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Faiz Naqshbandi, Executive Director of KIIR Altaf Wani, Abdul Hameed Lone and other Kashmiri activists were also present. He said that immediate restoration of article 370 and 35-A was the only way for India which may pave the way for peace in South Asia region.
Shehryar Khan Afridi said that the nations remember their martyrs as they cement the very foundations of those nations.
