LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday chaired a cabinet meeting at Governor House in which top government officials condemned the labelling of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani as a terrorist by the Indian government.
Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo told Dawn that cabinet members agreed all Pakistani embassies worldwide as well as the Foreign Office should register a protest against Indian atrocities in India-held Kashmir by submitting resolutions to the United Nations.
Members of the cabinet also decided to call a joint session of parliament to discuss the Kashmir issue, but a date for the session was not agreed upon, Bizenjo said.
The government also announced that Pakistan would observe a black day over violence in Kashmir on July 19.
Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen chief of operations, was killed in fighting last Friday after Indian troops, acting on a tip, cordoned a forested village in the southern Kashmir's Kokernag area. Two other members of Wani's group were also killed in the gun battle.
Wani's killing drew tens of thousands to rise up and renew demands for freedom from Indian rule. Massive protests took place despite imposition of an indefinite curfew in most parts of IHK.
The death toll from clashes between Indian troops and protesters in the region rose to 34 as Indian forces used live ammunition, pellet guns and tear gas for crowd control.
Paramilitary troops and police in riot gear patrolled villages and towns in the region. Most shops were shuttered, businesses were closed and cellphone services were suspended.
Pakistan on Sunday condemned what it termed the 'extra-judicial' killing of Wani, Hizbul Mujahideen's chief of operations, by Indian government forces. Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Vikas Swarup asked Pakistan to refrain from issuing statements on the Kashmir unrest, terming it an interference in India's internal affairs.
In his early 20s, Wani was born in the southern town of Tral and was a teenager in 2010 when his older brother was beaten by troops on patrol near their home.
Shortly after, he joined Hizbul Mujahideen and eventually became the iconic face of Kashmir's militancy.
The son of a school headmaster, he regularly posted video messages online dressed in military fatigues and invited young men to join the movement against Indian rule.
