Srinagar, India: Hundreds of Indian visitors and students are fleeing Kashmir after the government ordered tourists and Hindu pilgrims visiting a Himalayan cave shrine "to curtail their stay" in the disputed territory, citing security concerns.
Authorities on Saturday also bused out hundreds of Indian students from some colleges in the region's main city of Srinagar.
The order on Friday cited the "prevailing security situation" and the "latest intelligence inputs of terror threats with specific targeting" of the annual Hindu pilgrimage as reasons for the advisory.
The order has intensified tensions following India's announcement that it was sending thousands of more troops to the region, sparking fears in Kashmir that New Delhi is planning to scrap an Indian constitutional provision that disallows Indians to buy land in the Muslim-majority region.
