ISLAMABAD – The United Nations has made Kashmiri hero Burhan Wani part ofthe first-ever official UN report on the situation in Indian-occupiedKashmir.
The UN report vindicates the young Kashmiri activist despite Indianattempts to paint him as a militant and tarnish his legacy.
The release of this report coincides with Wanis second death anniversary onJuly 8, said a Kashmir advocacy group in an official statement.
Grandly compared to freedom leaders like George Washington and Gandhi, 22-year-old Wani is now a symbol for Kashmir freedom movement and has forcedKashmir conflict back on the top international agenda after years ofobscurity.
Wani was killed on July 8, 2016, in what many human rights defenders see asan extrajudicial killing.
The government of India insists he is a terrorist and uses two pictures ofWani in military fatigues to prove its case. But there is no evidence Waniever participated in any armed attack anywhere.
Many Indian political activists say the Indian army arrested and executedWani on the spot without trial because of lack of any incriminatingevidence against him.
Days after Wani’s murder, an Indian magazine complained that Media andintellectuals sympathize with terrorist Wani, underlining the widespreadimpression that India killed a social media activist and wrongly dubbed hima militant commander.
Wani’s elder brother was physically assaulted by Indian soldiers at an armycheckpoint in Kashmir and killed later.
New stories about Wani s childhood suggest he wanted to grow up and jointhe Indian army. But when he became an adult, he discovered the army wasoccupying his land and killing his people.