Kashmir’s worst day of violence since ceasefire claims 23 lives

KASHMIR’S deadliest day of violence since the resumption of peace talks claimed 23 lives yesterday, according to official sources.

Pakistan and India have been holding talks over the past month concerning the disputed Himalayan province.

Nine Islamic rebels and an Indian army officer were killed in the northern Kupwara district, with three of the guerrillas’ bodies so charred they could not be recovered, police said.

The shootout came hours after four troops from the army’s counter-insurgency wing, the Rashtriya Rifles, were killed when their bus ran over a landmine in the forests of the central Anantnag district, according to an army spokesman.

He said a further eight soldiers and two people operating the bus on contract were injured by the blast.

The province’s largest rebel group, Hizbul Mujahedin, which wants Indian Kashmir to join Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the mine attack in a telephone call to media in the summer capital, Srinagar. Elsewhere, suspected rebels shot dead three civilians, a bystander was killed in crossfire and five more militants were gunned down by troops, police said.

It was the deadliest day in the scenic Himalayan territory since India and Pakistan, which both claim Kashmir in full, agreed on the sidelines of a January 4-6 regional summit in Islamabad to resume dialogue stalled since 2001.

The first round of talks between the nuclear-capable nations is set for February 16-18 in the Pakistani capital, with Kashmir due on the agenda.

India has also begun dialogue with moderate separatists in Kashmir. Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani met on January 22 with five Kashmiri leaders who called jointly with him for an end to 15 years of bloodshed in the Muslim-majority province. Islamic militants rejected the appeal, deriding the separatists who travelled as “paid agents”.

Pakistan and India have fought two fully-fledged wars over Kashmir and came close to a third after suspected rebels attacked the Indian parliament in December 2001.

The neighbours launched a drive last year to repair ties, and on November 26 entered a historic border ceasefire in Kashmir.

The truce silenced nearly daily border skirmishes between the rival militaries, but both Indian security forces and rebels stressed the deal would not affect operations inside Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan yesterday observed Kashmir solidarity day, a public holiday held each year since 1984 under government sponsorship.

A number of separatists in Indian Kashmir used the occasion to thank Pakistan for its stance. “Pakistan is the only country that is and has been whole-heartedly supporting the legitimate and principled struggle of Kashmiris,” said Syed Ali Geelani, a leading hardliner who leads a breakaway faction of the main separatist alliance.

India says Pakistan has armed, trained and funded rebels and helped them sneak across the rugged Kashmir frontier. Pakistan denies the charge.

More than 40,000 people have died in the insurgency since 1989, according to official Indian figures. Separatists and Pakistan put the death toll at between 80,000 and 100,000.