seruriermarshal
06-12-2004, 10:07 PM
Four dead, 28 hurt as militants lob grenade at Kashmir tourist hotel
Sunday June 13, 12:31 AM
Four dead, 28 hurt as militants lob grenade at Kashmir tourist hotel
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Four people were killed and 28 hurt in a grenade attack on a popular tourist hotel in Kashmir, police said, just days before India and Pakistan are due to begin wideranging peace talks aimed at resolving their dispute over the Himalayan state.
"Militants today hurled a grenade at Purnima Hotel which exploded inside the dining hall," a police spokesman said, referring to a hotel in scenic tourist destination Pahalgam, in the centre of the Indian zone of Kashmir.
The blast occurred at 4.30 pm (1100 GMT) at a time when Pahalgam was teeming with visitors from all over India as well as weekend revellers from the Kashmir region, he added.
A lesser-known Islamic militant group, Al Nasereen, immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, in a telephone call to the local Current News Service (CNS) agency.
"Indians have no justification in visiting a disputed area," the caller said, according to CNS officials. He also warned the group would carry out similar attacks, blaming tourists for "spreading obscenities".
The blast, which also comes as the new Indian government and moderate separatists prepare to recommence peace talks on the future of the divided state, triggered panic in the area, witnesses said.
Anand Sharma, spokesman for India's ruling Congress party, said the attack was aimed at "spreading terror" among tourists and came from "those who are not party to the negotiations nor do they endorse the process for the restoration of peace and normacly".
"Such elements are in a minority and in fact isolated from the mainstream," Sharma told AFP.
Islamic rebels have rarely attacked tourists in Kashmir, where they are fighting a 15-year-old battle against Indian forces.
Officials feared the bloodshed would quickly impact on tourism, which this year, due to the peace moves between India and Pakistan, reached levels last seen in 1988 -- before the militants launched their insurgency.
"This summer has been one of the best as far as the coming of tourists to Kashmir is concerned," said one official, Shamim Ahmed.
"We have hotel and houseboat bookings for two months in advance. And so far more than 100,000 tourists have come to Kashmir after India and Pakistan started peace moves," Ahmed said.
The peace initiative, launched by the previous Indian government of Atal Behari Vajpayee and aimed at settling the issue of Kashmir as well as other points of dispute between India and Pakistan, is due to shift up a gear with a series of meetings scheduled between officials of the rival states next week.
Talks next week will focus on a range of issues, including cooperation in drug trafficking, nuclear confidence-building measures and a vexed river water sharing dispute, with Kashmir to be tackled later.
Foreign ministers of the two nuclear rivals are due to meet in August.
The talks would be the first after the new left-leaning Congress government came to power in New Delhi in an upset victory in national polls held last month.
The new prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has pledged to carry forward the peace process initiated by Vajpayee.
Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed termed the incident "highly unfortunate" and promised adequate security for tourists.
"The incident was a conspiracy to target interests of Kashmir and its people and bring the place to disrepute," he said. "Whoever committed the crime was surely an enemy of the present peace process aimed at ending the miseries of Kashmiris."
On Friday, India's new Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the government was ready to hold peace talks with Kashmir's main separatist alliance next month.
A moderate faction of the alliance, which held two rounds of talks with Vajpayee's government, indicated it was ready to talk to Singh's envoys.
Islamic militants and hardline separatists, who want Kashmir incorporated into Pakistan or to be autonomous, are opposed to the talks.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and each claim it in full. The nuclear-rivals have fought two of their three wars over the scenic region.
Sunday June 13, 12:31 AM
Four dead, 28 hurt as militants lob grenade at Kashmir tourist hotel
SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Four people were killed and 28 hurt in a grenade attack on a popular tourist hotel in Kashmir, police said, just days before India and Pakistan are due to begin wideranging peace talks aimed at resolving their dispute over the Himalayan state.
"Militants today hurled a grenade at Purnima Hotel which exploded inside the dining hall," a police spokesman said, referring to a hotel in scenic tourist destination Pahalgam, in the centre of the Indian zone of Kashmir.
The blast occurred at 4.30 pm (1100 GMT) at a time when Pahalgam was teeming with visitors from all over India as well as weekend revellers from the Kashmir region, he added.
A lesser-known Islamic militant group, Al Nasereen, immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, in a telephone call to the local Current News Service (CNS) agency.
"Indians have no justification in visiting a disputed area," the caller said, according to CNS officials. He also warned the group would carry out similar attacks, blaming tourists for "spreading obscenities".
The blast, which also comes as the new Indian government and moderate separatists prepare to recommence peace talks on the future of the divided state, triggered panic in the area, witnesses said.
Anand Sharma, spokesman for India's ruling Congress party, said the attack was aimed at "spreading terror" among tourists and came from "those who are not party to the negotiations nor do they endorse the process for the restoration of peace and normacly".
"Such elements are in a minority and in fact isolated from the mainstream," Sharma told AFP.
Islamic rebels have rarely attacked tourists in Kashmir, where they are fighting a 15-year-old battle against Indian forces.
Officials feared the bloodshed would quickly impact on tourism, which this year, due to the peace moves between India and Pakistan, reached levels last seen in 1988 -- before the militants launched their insurgency.
"This summer has been one of the best as far as the coming of tourists to Kashmir is concerned," said one official, Shamim Ahmed.
"We have hotel and houseboat bookings for two months in advance. And so far more than 100,000 tourists have come to Kashmir after India and Pakistan started peace moves," Ahmed said.
The peace initiative, launched by the previous Indian government of Atal Behari Vajpayee and aimed at settling the issue of Kashmir as well as other points of dispute between India and Pakistan, is due to shift up a gear with a series of meetings scheduled between officials of the rival states next week.
Talks next week will focus on a range of issues, including cooperation in drug trafficking, nuclear confidence-building measures and a vexed river water sharing dispute, with Kashmir to be tackled later.
Foreign ministers of the two nuclear rivals are due to meet in August.
The talks would be the first after the new left-leaning Congress government came to power in New Delhi in an upset victory in national polls held last month.
The new prime minister, Manmohan Singh, has pledged to carry forward the peace process initiated by Vajpayee.
Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed termed the incident "highly unfortunate" and promised adequate security for tourists.
"The incident was a conspiracy to target interests of Kashmir and its people and bring the place to disrepute," he said. "Whoever committed the crime was surely an enemy of the present peace process aimed at ending the miseries of Kashmiris."
On Friday, India's new Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the government was ready to hold peace talks with Kashmir's main separatist alliance next month.
A moderate faction of the alliance, which held two rounds of talks with Vajpayee's government, indicated it was ready to talk to Singh's envoys.
Islamic militants and hardline separatists, who want Kashmir incorporated into Pakistan or to be autonomous, are opposed to the talks.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and each claim it in full. The nuclear-rivals have fought two of their three wars over the scenic region.