Permission for ‘Burhan Wani Day’ rally denied over doctored leaflet

LONDON: Birmingham City Council has cancelled permission for a rally by British Kashmiris marking the martyrdom of renowned Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan Wani after protests from the Indian government claiming they were using a doctored leaflet.

Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK had announced that the “Burhan Wani Day” will be held in commemoration of the young Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhani Wani, who was assassinated by Indian occupation forces in the occupied valley on July 8, 2016. Over a thousand people had indicated that they will attend the rally on Saturday to pay tribute to Burhan Wani who has become a symbol of resistance for the new generation of Kashmiri youth involved in an uprising against the Indian occupation forces.

The original leaflet, available with Geo News, stated that Burhan Wani's Martyrdom rally will highlight the "cataclysm aftermath" involving 15,000 Kashmiris injured by pellet guns and blinded 400. It asked people to join “Kashmir Rally” outside the Council House in Birmingham on 8 July at Victoria Square. It read: "Let the world know about human rights violations in Kashmir since 1989 and let us not forget about 100,000 killing, 10,000 rapes, 200,000 orphans, mass graves and forced disappearances".

The poster didn’t mention anything about the organisers as it was a Kashmiri community initiative and circulated officially by the Kashmiri groups including Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK.

But a doctored poster emerged on social media falsely which attempted to link the events with banned groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayaba. The doctored poster said that "Lashkar-e-Tayaba & Hizb-ul Mujahideen" are the organisers of the event. The doctored poster carried controversial language. It said: "we will take back what is ours peacefully, we will not rest till Kashmir is free from Kuffars and hoist the flag of Islamic Ummah.”

 

Immediately after the doctored posters emerged, Indian government through its High Commission in London lodged a protest with British government against the “Burhan Wani Day” and used the engineered leaflet for its complaint while also using pressure from the highest quarters of the Indian government against the democratic rally.

A “note verbale” was issued by deputy high commissioner Dinesh Patnaik to the Foreign Office, reflecting New Delhi’s position on the event seen as an anti-Indian activity in the UK. The Indian diplomat said: “Allowing anti-India elements to flourish here in the name of democracy will not do.”

Using the doctored leaflet, the Indian government lodged its protest with the Birmingham City Council alleging that banned outfits were involved in arranging the protest.

Earlier, the Indian government was also upset when during the ICC Champions Trophy matches, Kashmiris carried posters of Wani with them to matches and waved images of “We Want Freedom”.

Tehreek-e-Kashmir’s president Faheem Kayani told Geo News that the Indian government-linked sources “engineered” the leaflet in order to defame the just and peaceful struggle by the people of Jammu Kashmir who are peacefully resisting the brutal oppression by 800,000 armed Indian forces illegally stationed in Jammu & Kashmir, the most militarised area in the world.

He said, “We strongly state that the alleged leaflet supplied is not produced nor supported by British Kashmiris and this is the design of certain quarters who are busy silencing the voice of British Kashmiris who are struggling to expose the injustice against our people in Indian occupied Kashmir. We believe in non-violent movement in Kashmir. Kashmir is not a religious issue & it is a political issue.”

Faheem Kayani said that Burhan Wani is a popular figure not only for Kashmiris but for the youth all over the world who reject terrorism and repression, be it by India or any other government.

He added, that more than 80 peaceful protests have been held across the UK after the martyrdom of Burhan Wani on 8th July 2016.

“More than five protests have been held in Birmingham City alone, more than 10 UK councils have passed resolutions regarding the post-Burhan situation, Wani was discussed in the British Parliament and over a dozen side events were held in the parliament on the situation arising after Wani’s martyrdom.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said, "We took a booking for a peaceful rally highlighting the human rights abuse in Kashmir. However, we are now aware of concerns raised about the promotional leaflet and, having assessed the material, have not given permission for the use of Victoria Square.”

When pressed about which exact leaflet the council used to slap a ban on the rally, the spokesman refused to answer.