Burhan Wani’s father hoists Tricolour at govt school in J-K’s Tral

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 15

Signs of a new dawn surfaced in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, with the Tricolour being unfurled at all government schools, colleges and other institutions, and father of the slain terrorist Burhan Wani doing the honours at a government school in Tral where he is the Principal.

Muzaffar Wani, the father of slain Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani, hoisted the Tricolour at the Government Higher Secondary School, Tral, where the National Anthem was also played.

Videos of the event went viral on the social media.

On Saturday, Muzaffar Wani had issued a video, dismissing reports that he had refused to hoist the Tricolour or that he was going to resign from his post.

”These are mere rumours. I will hoist the National Flag tomorrow,” he said on Saturday, following suit today.

Burhan Wani’s killing in an encounter with security forces in July 2016 in South Kashmir had led to a five-month summer agitation in Kashmir that left over 100 people dead and thousands injured.

Today the Tricolour was hoisted in all government schools, administrative blocks, villages and also in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

In another development, Internet services were not snapped for the first time in almost a decade in the Valley. The Kashmir IG decided against clamping down.

”This is the first time that Internet services ran smoothly and there was no disruption. Normally, on every Independence Day, the Internet used to be shut in the Valley in the wake of security threats. Barring the cricket stadium in Srinagar, where the LG unfurled the National Flag today, the entire city was open, unlike in the past. There were no restrictions. This was new,” Surinder Singh, a Srinagar resident, said.

He also said that the National Anthem was sung in all government schools today.

The J&K Administration had earlier asked the state Education Department to celebrate the Independence Day.

President Ram Nath Kovind had on Saturday said J&K was witnessing a new dawn.