Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is protesting India’s recent killing of Burhan Wani, a well known terrorist leader who operated in the disputed territory of Kashmir.
Sharif’s statement of protest expressed “deep shock” at the killing of a “Kashmiri leader.” Wani was the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, one of the largest terrorist organizations within Kashmir who mount hundreds of attacks on the Indian military, and civilians. Wani, who was only 22, operated a large social media presence that reinvigorated Islamic extremists in Kashmir against India.
Wani was killed on June 10 when Indian paramilitary forces, acting on a tip, surrounded a remote village inside Indian occupied Kashmir and engaged Hizbul Mujahideen. Wani, along with two of his deputies, were killed.
The Indian Foreign Minister responded to Pakistan’s statement tersely saying, “Pakistan is advised to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbors” and said the comments proved Pakistan’s “attachment to terrorism.”
Wani’s death triggered protests in Kashmir which Indian police responded to with force. Pakistan further charged India with “human rights” violations for killing 25 protestors. India believes the protestors who turned out were terrorists who were stoning Indian military vehicles and harassing soldiers.
India and Pakistan have repeatedly flared over territorial disputes in Kashmir. Both countries believe they have a right to it, and have reached an uneasy truce at the “line of control” which divides Kashmir between the two countries. India claims Pakistan has developed and supported ongoing jihadist efforts to mount guerilla war in Kashmir and kill Indian civilians.
In 2008, Pakistani sponsored terrorist organization Lashkar e Taiba, gunned down 164 people in Mumbai. India captured one gunmen alive who confirmed the identity of the Pakistani ring leader, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhavi. Pakistan initially took Zaki into custody, but he was granted bail in 2009 and Pakistan refuses to extradite him to India for trial.
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