SRINAGAR, June 30 (2008): Thousands of Muslim protesters angry at transfer of land to a Hindu shrine trust in Kashmir rioted with police and shut down the region for the eighth day on Monday, even after authorities said the decision would be revoked. In some of the biggest protests since a separatist revolt broke out in 1989, Kashmiris protested the transfer of about 100 acres to a Hindu trust to erect temporary shelters for thousands of Hindu pilgrims annually trekking to a mountain shrine. They said the move was a...

SRINAGAR, June 29 (2008): The government of Indian Kashmir said on Sunday it would revoke its decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust, a move that could defuse mass protests by Muslims across the Himalayan region. The week-long protests started when authorities said they transferred nearly 100 acres (40 ha) to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), a Hindu trust, to erect temporary shelters for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who annually trek to a cave shrine in Kashmir. The protests, some of the biggest...

SRINAGAR, June 25 (2008): At least two people were killed and scores hurt in Kashmir on Wednesday when police fired bullets during violent protests against a government decision to hand forest land to a Hindu shrine trust. Authorities transferred nearly 100 acres of forest land in Kashmir to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) to erect pre-fabricated huts for thousands of pilgrims who annually trek to a cave shrine deep in the Himalayas. Protesters say the land transfer was aimed at changing the demography of Kashmir,...

SRINAGAR, June 25 (2008): Narendra Nath Vohra was Wednesday sworn in as governor of Jammu and Kashmir at an impressive ceremony on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan in summer capital Srinagar. The state's High Court Chief Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new governor. Immediately after the oath-taking ceremony, the new governor was given a guard of honour and introduced to the council of ministers, judges of the high court, senior civil and military officials and also to...

SRINAGAR, India, June 24 (2008): Police fired teargas to break up protests by Muslims angry with a government decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust in Indian Kashmir, officials said on Tuesday. Authorities last week said nearly 100 acres (40 ha) of forest land in Kashmir was being transferred to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) to erect temporary structures for thousands of pilgrims who annually trek to a shrine deep in the Himalayas. Muslim protesters attacked government buildings, a police...

SRINAGAR, June 23 (2008):Police in Kashmir's main city fired tear gas and used batons on Monday to disperse hundreds of Muslim demonstrators protesting against a government decision to transfer forest land to a Hindu shrine trust. Authorities last week said nearly 100 acres of forest land in Kashmir was being transferred to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) to erect temporary structures for thousands of pilgrims who annually trek to a cave shrine deep in the Himalayas. "Don't grab our land, we want freedom,"...

SRINAGAR, June 23 (2008): At least 10 people, including nine separatist militants, were killed in clashes between security forces and insurgents at the weekend in Indian Kashmir, police said. Soldiers shot dead five suspected militants late on Saturday when they tried to cross the border into India. Four militants and a soldier were killed on Sunday in another gunbattle. "The initial investigation has shown that the militants belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba," S.M. Sahai, a senior police officer said in Srinagar, Kashmir's...

SRINAGAR, June 20 (2008): Hundreds of people led by a hardline Muslim separatist leader took to the streets in Indian Kashmir on Friday demanding the closure of liquor shops across the troubled region. Authorities in Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority region have said consumption of alcoholic drinks has picked up with the influence of Muslim militant groups gradually waning in recent years. Muslim militants closed liquor shops, beauty parlours and cinemas in the valley immediately after a bloody rebellion against...

ISLAMABAD, June 19 (2008): Two Pakistan soldiers were killed and two wounded on Thursday in a clash with "unknown miscreants" on the border with India in the disputed Kashmir region, a Pakistani military spokesman said. It was the most serious incident on the so-called Line of Control (LoC), an old ceasefire line separating the Pakistani and Indian armies in Kashmir, for some time, but the spokesman said the fire had apparently not come from the Indian side. "The fire was not from the Indian bunkers," said Pakistani...

SRINAGAR June 17 (2008): Thousands of Hindu pilgrims chanted hymns as they set off to a cave shrine deep in India's troubled Kashmir on Tuesday, despite fears of a possible militant attack on them. Hundreds of policemen and soldiers were deployed along the 350-km (215-mile) route which runs through forests and mountains before reaching the cave shrine, Amarnath. "We have made foolproof security and other arrangements for the pilgrims this year," Gulchain Singh Charak, a minister in the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir...