Pakistan calls Burhan Wani's death 'turning point' in Kashmir

Hizbul commander Burhan Wani's killing was a "turning point" for Kashmir, Pakistan's top diplomat said in Islamabad on Saturday apart from claiming that the ensuing violence in the Kashmir Valley is an "indigenous youth-led movement" triggered by India's "misguided efforts" to change the state's demography.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said this at an event to mark the 'Kashmir Solidarity Day' observed annually on February 5. Aziz claimed that the violence following the killing of Wani on July 8 by Indian security forces led to several deaths and many people were blinded either completely or partially.

"This brutality, which has continued unabated in the past 7 months, has not however dampened the resolve of Kashmiriyouth to secure their right of self-determination," Aziz said, according to a statement by Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

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Another important factor, Aziz claimed, after Wani's deathwas the "total rejection of the Indian narrative by theinternational community" that Kashmir was an integral part ofIndia.

Following the death of Wani, Kashmir witnessed protestsand chaos in 2016. The situation normalised towards the endof 2016. Aziz also said: "The whole world now acknowledges thatthis is an indigenous youth-led movement which has becomestronger because of the Indian government's misguided effortsto change the demographic composition of the state and itsinsensitivity to the rights of minority communities in India."

He said several countries have debated this issue and human rights organisations in Europe and North America have been mobilising public support to "force" India to resume dialogue with Pakistan to find an acceptable "solution to the longstanding dispute, still on the UN agenda."

He accused India of "desperately trying to divert the attention" of the global community from the situation in Kashmir by "intensifying" cross-border firing along the Lineof Control and "pretending" to be a victim of terrorism from Pakistan.