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Kashmir’s disaffected have a new icon: Omar Abdullah on Burhan Wani’s death
Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter on Friday after being cornered by the security forces.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has said Burhan Wani’s killing will not end militancy in the Valley and the Hizbul Mujahideen commander’s death will attract more youth to militancy than while he was alive and active on social media.
In a series of tweets from Friday when Wani was killed in an encounter with the security forces to Saturday morning when his funeral was being held, Abdullah also asserted that political problems needs a political solution.
The 21-year-old militant had become notoriously popular for his social media videos calling on youth in Kashmir to join militancy and the cause of an independent Valley. He was killed in an encounter on Friday after being cornered in Bumdoora village of Kokernag by a joint team of police and army.
Abdullah had said on Friday that Wani’s killing would mean some tense days in parts of the Valley.
Authorities suspended the Amarnath Yatra on Saturday morning to avoid any possible tensions in Kashmir Valley while curfew was imposed in parts of Srinagar and south Kashmir. The Srinagar-Jammu national highway was closed to traffic, and trains connecting Baramulla in Kashmir region to Banihal town in Jammu were suspended. Mobile internet services were also suspended in the Valley to check anti-social elements and activity.
Large crowds swelled at Wani’s funeral, roads leading to his village Sharifabad in Tral (south Kashmir) were blocked, a senior J-K Police officer said.
Read | Militant at 15, killed at 21: Hizbul Mujahideen’s poster boy Burhan Wani
