Disaffected have found new icon: Omar
SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s “disaffected” have found a “new icon” in slain militant Burhan Wani, former chief minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday, articulating fears among security agencies that his death could inspire more youth to join militancy than his exploits on social media.
As Kashmir erupted in anger over the killing of the Hizbul Mujahideen commander – one of the most-wanted militant leaders in the Valley– Abdullah put out a series of tweets since Friday night to stress that the decades-old impasse needed a political solution. “Mark my words.
Burhan’s ability to recruit into militancy from the grave will far outstrip anything he did on social media,” the National Conference leader said, referring to Wani’s social media interactions, often attributed to a spurt in local youth joining militancy. Abdullah, who was at the helm during the often-violent street agitations in 2010, said the pro-separatist sentiment became alive after the killing of 21-year-old Burhan. The internet-savvy militant, a resident of south Kashmir’s Tral, left home in 2010, just days before he was to take the Class 10 examination, to join the region’s frontline indigenous militant outfit. “After many years, I hear slogans for ‘Azadi’ resonate from the mosque in my uptown Srinagar locality. Kashmir’s disaffected got a new icon y’day (sic). ”The former chief minister started tweeting the moment news started circulating about Burhan’s death in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Kokernag.
Abdullah said the slain militant had no dreaded case registered again him. “For all Burhan’s social media activity I don’t recall any militancy incident attributed to him while I was in office. Not sure after that,” he added. Abdullah said while Burhan was not the first one to take to arms, he would not be the last as the Kashmir issue is a political problem that needs a political solution. It was a thought which resonated in conversations across the Valley.