Police issue shoot-on-sight orders in Kashmir
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The death toll from that violence rose to 19 on Tuesday, including 18 demonstrators and one police officer.
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A Kashmiri protester gestures towards Indian policemen during an anti-India protest in Srinagar September 14, 2010. [Agencies] |
On Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh again voiced his willingness to talk to Kashmiris and to respond to their demands, but the government has not yet responded to a proposal by the separatists for peace talks.
Since 1989, a violent, separatist insurgency and the ensuing crackdown by Indian forces have killed an estimated 68,000 people. Although the armed rebellion is largely suppressed, the region remains heavily militarized, with checkpoints along main roads, hundreds of thousands of troops stationed here and harsh emergency laws still in force, creating further friction with the restive population.
This summer's demonstrations erupted after a police probe in June found Indian soldiers killed three Kashmiri civilians in a staged gunbattle, then claimed their victims were militants to get a reward. The army responded by suspending two officers.
In a protest following that incident, a teenager was killed after being hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired by police. Since then, the troubled Himalayan region has witnessed near-daily demonstrations and clashes.
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