National Conference MLC calls slain Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani a martyr, kicks up row

Jammu: A National Conference leader has hailed slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani as a martyr, who fought for the cause of Kashmir. 

News agency ANI quoted NC MLC Shauqat Hussain Gannai as saying, ''Burhan Wani is a martyr as he gave his life for the cause of J&K.''

The National Conference MLC further claimed that he had made these remarks on Wani in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. 

The controversial remarks from the NC MLC comes months after Wani was killed in an encounter by the security forces in J&K's Anantnag district along with two other militants.

Hailed as the local boy, Wani, 22, was the chief architect of the social-media driven psychological warfare in Kashmir Valley.

Wani carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head when he was tracked after a tip-off that he was planning to come down from the Tral forest area for Eid celebrations.

Wani and his two local associates were cornered by security forces in Kokernag area and killed in the ensuing encounter. The militants hurled grenades and opened fire in a bid to escape, but the house where they were holed up was bombed killing all three.

The news of Wani’s death triggered protests across the Kashmir Valley. Hundreds of people assembled in Tral, Wani’s hometown, to participate in his funeral prayers. 

Several others performed funeral in absentia in south, central and north Kashmir.

Earlier, needling India on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had hailed Wani as a "martyr" and said that July 19 – the day when he was killed - will be observed as a "black day" to express solidarity with people of Kashmir.