RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday condemned, the brutal killing of Kashmiri youth by Indian authorities during the monthly Corps Commander Conference at the General Headquarters.
The army chief said that the world needs to recognise, the struggle of Kashmiri people for freedom and help resolve the long standing dispute for lasting amity in Kashmir and to promote enduring peace in the region.
The army chief also appreciated the efforts of intelligence and law enforcement agencies in enduring peace and security during Eid in the face of numerous threats.
It is the worst civilian violence to hit the restive region of Indian-held Kashmir since 2010, when mass protests broke out against Indian rule.
Wani, a 22-year-old commander of Kashmir’s largest pro-independence militant group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), was killed along with two other separatists during a brief gun battle with Indian government forces.
Wani joined the HM group at the age of just 15, and was viewed as a hero by many in Kashmir. The state’s former chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted after his death that he had become the “new icon of Kashmir’s disaffected”.
Witnesses said tens of thousands attended his funeral despite a curfew imposed by Indian authorities, chanting independence slogans and firing pistol shots in his honour.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called an emergency meeting to discuss escalating violence in India-held Kashmir amid anti-India protests that have left at least 30 people dead and hundreds injured in clashes with authorities.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has also condemned the violence in Indian-held Kashmir.