Curfew imposed in IOK ahead of Burhan Wani's death anniversary

Indian forces place Hurriyat leaders under house arrest

A complete shutdown is being observed in Indian-occupied Kashmir to mark second death anniversary of Burhan Wani, Kashmir Media Service reported.

The Indian forces imposed a curfew with thousands of Indian soldiers and police personnel deployed across IoK after Joint Resistance Leadership, comprising Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, called for a march towards Wani’s hometown Tral on Sunday.

The Hurriyat leaders have been placed under house arrest in a bid to stop them from the march.



The death of the 23-year-old, who had built up a big following on social media, sparked an outpouring of grief and anger that spilled into the streets and led to months of clashes with security forces. Nearly 100 people died in the months that followed and many more sustained serious eye injuries from the pellet guns used by government forces to quell the protests.

Wani changed the narrative of guerrilla warfare by mounting a challenge to the massive Indian security grid without concealing his identity. He appeared with his real name. Showed his presence in combat uniform from dense forests and lush green orchards in the south of IOK and ruled over the hearts of the young generation of Kashmir across the Line of Control (LoC).

Burhan joined the armed struggle in October 2010 after he was beaten by Indian troops along with his brother Khalid Muzaffar Wani, who was later killed by the Indian army in custody on April 13, 2015 for meeting Burhan in Tral forest. Since 2011, Burhan was popular on social media as a commander of the largest indigenous Kashmiri freedom fighters orgnaisation — Hizbul Mujahideen.