Kashmir's disaffected have found a new icon: Omar Abdullah on Hizbul chief Burhan Wani's death

Srinagar: Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that Kashmir’s “disaffected” have got a “new icon” in Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and expressed apprehension that his death could lead to more youths joining militancy than his exploits on social media. [caption id=“attachment_2651320” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah. PTI[/caption] “Mark my words - Burhan’s ability to recruit into militancy from the grave will far outstrip anything he could have done on social media,” Omar wrote on microblogging site Twitter. “After many years, I hear slogans for ‘Azadi’ resonate from the mosque in my uptown Srinagar locality. Kashmir’s disaffected got a new icon yesterday,” the National Conference leader said. People assembled in Tral — the hometown of Wani — in Pulwama district for attending the funeral prayers. On Friday, Omar had said while Burhan was not the first one to take to arms, he would not be last as Kashmir issue is a political problem which requires a political solution. “For all Burhan’s social media activity I don’t recall any militancy incident attributed to him while I was in office. “Not sure after that,” he added. Wani, the 21-year-old poster boy of militancy, was shot dead yesterday by security forces along with two of his accomplices in Kokernag area, 83 km from Srinagar.