Pakistan has called slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani as a “freedom fighter” in a series of “commemorative” stamps. The postage stamps were released by Pakistan Post in July this year but it was confirmed by a Pakistani official only now.
Besides Wani, the stamps carry provocative messages and images through which Islamabad attempts to stir up emotions in the country against India.
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One of the stamps also shows the human shield incident in which an alleged stone-pelter was tied to an Army jeep in a bid to prevent other stone-pelters from attacking the convoy escorting poll officials to safety.
According to a report in The Times of India, Pakistan Post released a total of 20 stamps. Some of the stamps portray terrorists as “victims of atrocities by Indian troops in Kashmir”.
Wani, who was killed by security forces in an encounter in Jammu-Kashmir on 8 July 2016, has been described as a “freedom fighter” in the caption of the stamp dedicated to him. Other captions on the stamps accuse India of “use of chemical weapons”, “use of pellet guns”, “mass graves”, etc.
Wani’s killing triggered one of the biggest protests in the Valley. The use of pellet guns by forces to counter stone-pelting was criticised by rights groups as well as international organisations.
The stamps were released on the so-called ‘Kashmir Martyrs Day’ in Pakistan to draw international attention to Kashmir.
According to the report, all the stamps are on sale on e-Bay. The same stamps are sold in Pakistan for Pakistani Rs 8 per piece.
The news of the stamps came at a time when Pakistani soldiers slit the throat of a BSF jawan near the International Border.
On Tuesday, 18 September, Head Constable Narender Kumar was killed by the Pakistani Rangers in the Ramgarh sector.
On 21 September, militants gunned down three policemen hours after they were abducted from their homes in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
The horrific incident comes days after militants issued threats by making announcements in some mosques in Shopian, asking the policemen to quit their jobs or face consequences.
