Kashmir disquiet echoes in Delhi

Srinagar: Police shot dead one Muslim protester as huge crowds shouting "we want freedom" took to the streets of Kashmir on Thursday over a land row that has brought separatist sentiments out into the open after years of relative peace.

Seven other demonstrators were wounded when police opened fire to disperse protesters in downtown Srinagar even as protesters torched a police vehicle and hoisted green flags in several areas of Kashmir valley.

The row pits Muslims in Kashmir against Hindus in Jammu - the two main regions which make up the state - in what is one of the hardest challenges facing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government since it took office in 2004.

The crisis has also raised tensions with nuclear rival Pakistan. India has criticised Islamabad for interfering in its internal affairs by calling for UN intervention in the region.

Police in the Kashmir valley have killed at least 22 Muslim protesters this week, inflaming tensions. More than 500 people have been injured in clashes.

The protests are some of the biggest since a separatist revolt against New Delhi broke out in the region 20 years ago.

Stepped-up vigil

The dispute over land allocated to Hindu pilgrims visiting a shrine in Kashmir has snowballed into a|full-scale anti-India protest, uniting Kashmiri separatists and reviving calls for independence.

Most streets in Srinagar wore a deserted look yesterday except for security patrols on the roads.

Police and soldiers increased security around a stadium in Srinagar where independence day celebrations are to be held today.

Separatist groups have called for a general strike and observance of "black day" today.

A curfew remained in force in many parts of the state, but the protests appeared not to have spread.

"I strongly condemn the reign of terror let loose by the Indian forces against the besieged people of Kashmir," said separatist leader Mohammad Yasin Malik, who led a protest in Srinagar.

"Indian troops cannot suppress our struggle."

The dispute began after the Kashmir government promised to give forest land to a trust that runs the Amarnath cave shrine that draws thousands of Hindu pilgrims each year.

Taken aback by angry Muslim protests, the government then rescinded its decision, which in turn riled Hindus in Jammu who took out their anger on trucks carrying supplies to Kashmir valley and blocked the region's highway, the only road link with the rest of the country.

Challenging the blockade, Kashmiris took to the streets. Through Wednesday night, thousands of Kashmiri protesters shouted anti-India slogans, condemning security forces. Hundreds of Muslims also assembled in mosques and shrines which relayed the slogans on loudspeakers.

Call for restraint

The New York-based Human Rights Watch urged India to show restraint.

"The Indian government should order troops and police to refrain from using lethal force against violent protesters in Jammu and Kashmir unless absolutely necessary to protect life," it said.