Pakistan declares Burhan Wani a ‘martyr’, will observe July 19 as ‘black day’

• PM Nawaz promises continued moral, political, diplomatic support to Kashmiris in their struggle for right to self-determination
• Federal cabinet condemns Indian govt for calling Burhan Wani a terrorist, as India says Pakistan has no locus standi in its internal matter

Pakistan on Friday condemned the labelling of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani as a “terrorist” by the Indian government and announced to observe July 19 as a “black day” to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people, as India expressed its dismay over what it called the continued attempts by Pakistan to interfere in its “internal matter”.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif termed Burhan Wani as “martyr of the independence movement” and proposed observance of July 19 as a “black day” while chairing a federal cabinet meeting at the Governor’s House in Lahore.

The cabinet members agreed all Pakistani embassies worldwide as well as the Foreign Office should register a protest against Indian atrocities in Indian-held Kashmir by submitting resolutions to the United Nations.

The cabinet members also decided to call a joint session of parliament to discuss the Kashmir issue, but a date for the session was not agreed upon.

Addressing the meeting, PM Sharif termed Burhan Wani as martyr of the independence movement and proposed to his cabinet Pakistan observed July 19 (Tuesday) as a black day against Indian barbarism in occupied Kashmir.

The premier said Pakistan would continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris in their just struggle for their right to self-determination. He termed the movement of the Kashmiris as a movement of freedom, and observed that Indian brutalities would only give impetus to the freedom struggle.

Sharif said that seven hundred thousand Indian soldiers deployed in occupied Kashmir could not suppress the struggle of the Kashmiris, adding that the whole Pakistani nation was standing behind them. The prime minister also directed all the relevant departments to highlight Indian atrocities in occupied Kashmir by Indian forces at the international fora.

Earlier, at the outset of the meeting, the cabinet offered fateha for the departed souls of celebrated philanthropist and humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi, qawwali maestro Amjad Sabri and Shuhada-e-Kashmir (Kashmiri martyrs).

The cabinet also condemned the terrorist attacks in France, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Turkey and Indonesia.

INDIA DISMAYED OVER PAKISTAN’S INTERFERENCE:

Meanwhile, India expressed its dismay over what it called the continued attempts by Pakistan to interfere in its “internal matter”.

“India completely and unequivocally rejects the decisions adopted by Cabinet of Pakistan on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. We are dismayed at the continued attempts by Pakistan to interfere in our internal matters,” read a statement posted by India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup on his Twitter account.

The statement added that “Pakistan or any other party has no right to speak on behalf of Kashmir and the continued glorification of terrorists belonging to proscribe organisations makes it amply clear where Pakistan’s sympathies continue to lie”.

India also criticised the upcoming elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and termed the exercise as one of the attempts by Pakistan to ingratiate itself with the people of Kashmir.

Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen chief of operations, was killed in fighting last Friday after Indian troops, acting on a tip, cordoned a forested village in the southern Kashmir’s Kokernag area. Two other members of Wani’s group were also killed in the gunbattle. Wani’s killing drew tens of thousands to rise up and renew demands for freedom from Indian rule. Massive protests take place despite imposition of an indefinite curfew in most parts of Indian-held Kashmir.