Strike in Indian Kashmir as soldiers fight militants
By Ashok Pahalwan
JAMMU, India, May 12 (Reuters) - A militant was killed in Indian Kashmir on Monday, officials said, the latest in spiralling violence that sparked a strike by parties across the political spectrum.
Indian police and soldiers patrolled the streets of Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir and border areas, following the attempted infiltration by militants from Pakistan's portion of Kashmir, officials said.
Eight people, including four civilians, died on Sunday and at least 18 villagers were wounded after militants exchanged fire with soldiers, in the heaviest civilian toll this year in the region.
Last week, Indian soldiers came under heavy cross-border fire while trying to stop a group of armed men from sneaking into its part of Kashmir. It was the worst incident on the border between India and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir this year.
Indian officials have said that separatist militants fighting New Delhi's rule in the divided Himalayan region are trying to cross the border from Pakistani Kashmir.
"The strike was called to protest against terrorist attacks on innocent civilians," said Ashok Khajuria, state chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party, India's main opposition party.
On Monday, streets were deserted and public transport was off the roads in and around Jammu as political parties held meetings to condemn the killings.
A militant was also shot dead when he was trying to sneak into an army camp near Jammu, the army said.
"He was wearing army fatigues and was detected while trying to breach the barbed fence of the camp," defence spokesman Lieutenant Colonel S.D. Goswami said in Jammu.
The incident comes ahead of Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Pakistan later this month for a review of a four-year-old peace process between the two countries.
Officials said they were checking to see if there were militants hiding in the area.
"The search and area patrol have been stepped up," Farooq Ahmed, a senior police officer, said.
Intrusions along the border have increased, despite a truce coming into effect between India and Pakistan along the military Line of Control that divides the region in November 2003 as part of peace efforts.
Officials say more than 43,000 people have been killed since the revolt against New Delhi's rule broke out in 1989. Human rights groups put the toll at about 60,000 dead or missing. (Additional reporting by Sheikh Mushtaq in Srinagar; Editing by Bappa Majumdar)
