Srinagar
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) on Saturday said Burhan Wani “represents the undying spirit of resistance, steadfastness of Kashmiri nation”.
A JKLF spokesperson in a statement paid tributes to slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani on his 2nd anniversary, and said, “Burhan’s struggle and sacrifice mark the continuity of the legacy left behind by great people like Muhammad Maqbool Butt and Ishfaq Majeed Wani.”
Terming Wani as a symbol of Kashmiri resistance, the spokesperson said that a budding young boy Burhan was forced to tread the path of armed resistance by government forces and police who “tortured him along with his brother Khalid, humiliated his family and pushed him to the wall”.
“This young man and his brother were pursuing peaceful struggle against government forces but it was met with torture and humiliation, which left Burhan Wani and many others like him with no choice but to join the armed struggle. The story of Burhan Wani and many others is a repeat of the story of those who pioneered the armed struggle in 1988,” he said.
He said Burhan and many of his associates were part of the peaceful struggle in 2008 and 2010 but “Delhi crushed their peaceful movement by force and the international community while safeguarding its business interests maintained a criminal silence which forced these peace-loving youth to change the means of their struggle”.
“A nation that has been giving birth to sons like Burhan Wani cannot be defeated by false propaganda and other means. Ours is a sacred struggle nourished by the pure blood of our youth and no worldly power on earth can defeat this people’s movement,” the spokesperson said.
He also condemned arrests spree, nocturnal raids, and crackdowns launched by forces across the valley.
“Thousands of youth and political activists have been arrested which include JKLF chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik, JKLF vice chairman Showkat Ahmad Bakhshi, JKLF district president Bashir Ahmad Rather (Boya), activists Mushtaq Ahmad Wani (Koreg), Nazir Ahmad, Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, Muhammad Yousuf Ganie, Mushtaq Ahmad Rather, Fayaz Ahmad Mir and others,” he said.
