A group of protesters from UK-based Pakistani and separatist organisations held a demonstration outside the Indian High Commission in London on Wednesday to mark the fourth death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist commander Burhan Wani, who was killed by Indian armed forces in a counter-insurgency operation in 2016.
Burhan Wani was the commander of militant organisation Hizbul Mujahideen operating in Jammu and Kashmir and was killed by the Indian security forces on July 8, 2016.
Raja Sikandar Khan, Chairman Global Kashmir & Pakistan Council said, “We are standing in solidarity to commemorate the 4th martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Burhan Wani who gave the supreme sacrifice of his life for the liberation of his motherland from the Indian manacles.”
The Metropolitan Police had made the necessary security arrangements ahead of the protest around India House in central London, including erecting a barricaded zone between the High Commission building and the protestors.
The Indian High Commission in London welcomed the security cooperation provided by the Metropolitan Police, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Home Office.
An official Indian mission communique said that celebrating a terrorist commander’s death anniversary is a mockery, which exposes those who believe in propagating a selective version of human rights.
The protest had been called by groups including the Overseas Pakistan Welfare Council and Global Pakistan and Kashmir Supreme.
The Indian authorities highlighted that Wani was a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, which is an internationally recognised terror entity with a history of causing violence in Jammu and Kashmir.
The organisation, which operates from Pakistan, along with its Commander in chief Syed Salahuddin, are proscribed terrorist entities – including by the European Union and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) by the US.
Before he was killed during the counter-insurgency operation in July 2016, Wani and his group carried out multiple attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, causing deaths of security personnel and civilians, the Indian mission communique noted.
Raja Fahim Kayani, president Tehreek-e-Kashmir, UK, an organisation formed in 1985, called for “economic sanctions” on India saying he believes India has violated the universal declaration of human rights and the UN security council resolutions on Kashmir.
