Thousands flee disputed Kashmir region after tensions flare, India beefs forces

SRINAGAR/ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Indian tourists, pilgrims and workers began leaving the disputed region of Kashmir after a local government alert over possible crackdown on resident Kashmiri’s was issued.

A local government order effectively called off the pilgrimage, asking the pilgrims and tourists to return home.

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India has maintained that a possible attack may be launched by Pakistan against the people living under illegal Indian occupation in the disputed territory.

A Pakistani defense spokesperson dismissed India’s assertions as “mere propaganda”, calling them “blatant lies”.

A senior local government official in Kashmir said the local government advisory had caused panic and led to the departure of “thousands” of tourists, pilgrims and laborers.

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The official did not give a specific number, but he said most of the 20,000 Hindu pilgrims and Indian tourists and the more than 200,000 laborers were leaving the region.

Kashmir, claimed by both India and mostly Muslim Pakistan, has long been a flashpoint between the two countries. Tensions flared after a vehicle laden with explosives rammed into an Indian police convoy on Feb. 14, killing 40 paramilitary policemen, and leading to aerial clashes between the two nations.

In a statement late on Saturday, the Pakistani government said it was concerned about the situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir, adding it rejects India’s assertions of “intelligence inputs” about some imminent attack.

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The Pakistani Foreign Minister has voiced concern in letters to the United Nations Secretary-General and the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly, it said.

 

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