Tensions Flaring up in Kashmir

Tensions have been growing in Kashmir since Hindu pilgrams were refused entry to a holy shrine in Kashmir. Now with the death of Sheik Abdul Aziz, it looks like things are heating up in Kashmir. Times Online

Indian-administered Kashmir moved a large step towards all-out revolt today when police shot dead a senior separatist leader as he led a massive pro-independence march.

Sheik Abdul Aziz, a member of the Hurriyat Conference, an influential coalition of separatist parties, was killed as about 100,000 Muslim Kashmiris made an unprecedented attempt to breach the border that splits the fiercely contested region between India and Pakistan.

His death looks set to inflame some of the worst violence to hit the troubled region since the eruption of an all-out insurgency in 1989 and to give momentum to a resurgent separatist movement across the Kashmir Valley.

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Police said three others were killed and about 200 injured as security forces used tear gas and fired shots on protestors as they made their way to within about 25 miles of one of the most volatile and closely guarded frontiers in the world. Tensions were further raised by reports of firing on Indian border positions from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Riots and running battles in Indian Kashmir with police have now claimed 16 lives over the past two months.

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The current troubles were sparked in mid June. The state government rescinded a decision to gift about 100 acres of forest land to Amarnath, a Hindu cave shrine that hosts a revered stalagmite, to build shelters for pilgrims. The move, which followed violent demonstrations from Kashmir’s Muslim majority, triggered counter-protests from Hindus.

Passions continue to run high among extremists on both sides.

Tarun Vijay, a right wing Hindu commentator, said: “The whole issue was created by separatist leaders who would like to stop the Hindu pilgrimage? The real motive is a complete Islamisation (sic) of the valley.” The fight for independence by Kashmiri Islamic groups has claimed more than 40,000 lives over the past 19 years, according to the Indian Army. Separatists put the toll at more than double that figure.