Wani's martyrdom revived Kashmir struggle: JKSM

Senior Hurriyat leader and Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Salvation Movement, Altaf Ahmed Bhat, has said that Burhan Muzaffar Wani's martyrdom marked a turning point in the Kashmiri struggle for freedom, sparking a movement of hope, resilience, and global attention.

"He used his voice, not violence, to make the world listen," Bhat told a gathering in Mirpur commemorating Burhan's 9th martyrdom anniversary. "He showed that this struggle is not terrorism ... it is a cry for justice rooted in international law."

Organised by 1990 refugee families, the event was attended by senior Hurriyat figures, lawyers, civil society members and journalists, where speakers paid rich tribute to Burhan Wani and all those who laid down their lives for Kashmir's freedom.

Senior Hurriyat leader Malik Aslam, who also addressed the gathering, said that Burhan Wani's sacrifice has immortalised him in the hearts of the Kashmiri people. Altaf Ahmed Bhat voiced serious alarm over the health conditions of Kashmiri political detainees in Indian jails, accusing the Indian government of turning prisons into tools of slow execution.

"Shabir Shah is battling cancer; Yasin Malik is isolated in solitary confinement; Asiya Andrabi is suffering from chronic illness; Zaffar Akbar Bhat, who had a brain haemorrhage, is being denied medical monitoring; and Dr Abdul Hameed Fayyaz remains ill and unattended behind bars."

Bhat described the custodial deaths of Ashraf Sehrai and Altaf Fantoush as not accidental but premeditated.