Defying curfew thousands of people Friday offered funeral prayers in absentia for Hizb commander Burhan Wani and his two associates in Tral town of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Burhan Muzaffar Wani and his two associates Parvez Ahmed and Sartaj Ahmed was killed in an encounter with forces on July 8 this month in Bemdoora Kokernag area of Anantnag district.
The call for holding funeral prayers was forwarded by united Hurriyat leadership- Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik.
Reports said the administration had imposed curfew in the district, however locals told CNS that people defied curfew and arrived at Eidgah Tral in large numbers. “Thousands assembled at Eidgah Tral and offered funeral prayers in absentia for Burhan Muzzafar Wani,” they said.
The Eidgah reverberated with ‘pro-freedom’ slogans. Several separatist leaders and civil society members including Abdul Samad Inqlabi, Advocate G N Shaheen, Bashir Ahmed Qureshi, Mujahid Shabir Ahmed Falahi and others addressed the mourners.
In his audio recorded message Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Geelani while paying tributes to martyrs of Kashmir asked family members of Burhan to maintain calm and bear patience. “22-year-old Burhan has achieved martyrdom at such a tender age which shows his commitment and honesty with the cause,” Geelani said in his message. Funeral prayers in absentia for Burhan were also offered in Dadsara, Tral.
Sources added that the posters purportedly issued by militant outfit Hizbul Mujhadeen were read out at different mosques of the Tral town asking people to continue their protest.
Meanwhile eyewitnesses told CNS that large number of protesters attacked the house of PDP legislator Mushtaq Ahmed Shah and smashed the windowpanes of his house. Reports said nobody was present in the house when it was attacked.
Thousands offer funeral prayers in absentia for Burhan Wani
