Pakistan commemorates slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in stamps released on 'Kashmir Martyrs Day'

Slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani has been declared a “freedom icon” by Pakistan as the country has expressed its solidarity with Kashmiris in their “fight against Indian oppression”. Pakistan commemorated the “victims of atrocities by Indian troops in Kashmir” by issuing 20 special postage stamps which carry captions such as: ‘Burhan Wani (1994-2016) freedom icon’. [caption id=“attachment_2883238” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. News18[/caption] According to The Times of India’s report, a senior official of Pakistan Post said that the stamps were issued from the Post’s headquarters in Karachi on 24 July to locally and internationally highlight the “plight of people living in Kashmir”. The stamps carry photos of Wani and his two associates who were killed in a gunbattle with police in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir in July 2016. Besides the picture of the militant commanders, the stamps have captions like — “use of chemical weapons”, “use of pellet guns”, “mass graves” and “braid chopping” — carried alongside. Whereas, the subjects of the stamps include phrases like “over 100,000 Kashmiris martyred”, “freedom struggle”, “fake encounters” and “bleeding Kashmir”, the report stated. According to the report, the stamps were issued on ‘Kashmir Martyrs Day’ by the Philately Bureau in Karachi and are available on online shopping portal, eBay, for $6.99 (Rs 500 approximately) while in Pakistan, the stamps are being sold at PKR 8 (~Rs 4.50) apiece. However, Indian philatelists are not amused with this initiative of the Pakistani Post and have asked the Government of India to convey its objections to Pakistan and ask them withdraw the stamps. Philatelists have reportedly said they have brought the matter to the notice of Indian government officials.