SRINAGAR, April 28 (2004): At least two people were killed and 79 wounded in a spate of blasts across Indian Kashmir on Wednesday as suspected Muslim rebels stepped up violence to enforce a poll boycott in the disputed region. The level of violence in the troubled state has fallen since India and Pakistan began a peace process last year but there have been attacks in the run-up to India's general election by anti-India militants who say polls in the region are a farce. Two people were killed and 55 wounded in the...

SRINAGAR, April 28 (2004): Suspected Muslim rebels in Indian Kashmir threw a grenade at an election campaign convoy of a member of the state assembly on Wednesday wounding 10 people although the politician was not hurt, police said. The level of violence in disputed Kashmir has fallen since India and Pakistan began a peace process last year but there have been attacks in the run-up to India's general election as militants attempt to enforce a poll boycott. "Mohammad Khalil Yatoo, who escaped unhurt, was on his way to...

SRINAGAR, April 26 (2004): Voting is a life or death decision in Indian Kashmir, where separatist rebels have called for a boycott of Monday's parliamentary election and threatened to kill anyone defying them. Not surprisingly, few take the risk. At one heavily guarded polling station in Kashmir's main city just one voter had turned up after three hours, out of a total of nearly 3,000 people registered there. "You must be crazy to think I will vote, who wants to die?" said Mohammed Ismail, standing outside...

SRINAGAR, April 26 (2004): Voting is a life or death decision in Kashmir, where separatists have called for a boycott of Monday's elections and threatened to kill anyone defying them. Not surprisingly, few take the risk. At one heavily guarded polling station in Kashmir's main city just one voter had turned up after three hours, of a total of nearly 3,000 voters registered at the booth. "You must be crazy to think I will vote, who wants to die?" said Mohammed Ismail, standing outside Kashmir's Hazratbal shrine with...

SRINAGAR, April 25 (2004): The chief of Indian Kashmir's ruling party escaped a bid on her life on Sunday when suspected Muslim rebels, who have called for a boycott of India's national polls, threw a grenade at her convoy, a witness said. Mehbooba Mufti, president of the pro-India People's Democratic Party, had ended an election campaign rally in Kulgam, south of the state's main city Srinagar, when the grenade exploded. The attack came on the eve of the vote in Srinagar, where rebels and separatists have called for...

NEW DELHI, April 24 (2004): The United States on Saturday condemned rising poll violence in Indian Kashmir and said it was a "cynical attempt" to scare away voters from the democratic process in the revolt-torn region. Militant groups, who have called for a boycott of national elections, have launched grenade attacks, set off mines and fired at offices of political parties, polling stations, and campaign vehicles to disrupt the April-May vote. (For complete story write to admin@freepresskashmir.com)

SRINAGAR, April 23 (2004): Two loud explosions were followed by heavy gunfire on Friday near the office of India's main opposition Congress party in Kashmir, witnesses said, days before the troubled region votes in national polls. The violence in Srinagar, Kashmir's main city, which is due to vote on April 26, followed calls by Muslim separatist groups to boycott the polls, which are being held in five rounds from April 20 to May 10. Earlier on Friday, suspected rebels hurled a grenade at the Congress office, which is...

SRINAGAR, April 22 (2004): An India Air Force helicopter crashed in Kashmir on Thursday, killing the pilot, a defence spokesman said. The crash took place near Uri sector which lies on the Line of Control near the Pakistan border. Earlier this month, two Air Force jets crashed in Kashmir's mountainous Sonamarg area, killing both pilots. (For complete story write to admin@freepresskashmir.com)

BARAMULLA, April 20 (2004): Militants in Kashmir and in the remote northeast set off mines and fired at polling stations as India began voting on Tuesday to elect a new parliament, killing at least seven people and wounding dozens. Omar Abdullah, chief of disputed Kashmir's pro-India National Conference party, escaped a bid on his life when a landmine exploded minutes after his campaign convoy passed, police said. A policeman was wounded in the attack on Abdullah, a former junior foreign minister, they said. A...

SRINAGAR, April 15 (2004): Two soldiers were killed and five others wounded in Kashmir on Thursday when their vehicle ran over a landmine planted by suspected Muslim rebels, police said. Separatist guerrillas have stepped up attacks in the Himalayan region ahead of national election despite a slow but steady improvement over the past year in ties between India and Pakistan who have fought two wars over Kashmir. No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack which took place near Duxer...