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| Sunday, 24 October 2004 |
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Kashmiris fill mosques, pray for peace SRINAGAR, India (AFP) Residents of revolt-racked Indian Kashmir filled mosques and streets for the first Friday prayers of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, many praying for peace in the region. In Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, mosques were full to capacity and thousands of Muslims had to offer prayers on the streets despite the winter chill. Imams at dozens of mosques used loudhailers so that those out on the streets, who knelt in rows on rugs, could hear. Authorities had to divert traffic in and around Lal Chowk, the main commercial area, due to the crowds. Indian border guards backed by local police, meanwhile, manned the roads and frisked pedestrians for arms and ammunition. "Allah give us peace and security," roared the voice of an imam on the loudhailers at Haji mosque, one of the busiest mosques in the area. A 15-year insurgency against Indian rule has left more than 40,000 people dead. Separatists put the toll between 80,000 and 100,000. The unrest has left thousands of orphans and widows. Residents continue to live with uncertainty as violence on average takes six to eight lives a day. "We have seen enough deaths and destruction. Let peace previal now," prayed Srinagar resident Abdul Sattar, 73. Kashmiri rebels launched the insurgency in a bid to to secede the scenic Himalayan region from India and join it with neighbouring Pakistan or keep it independent. India and Pakistan hold the region in parts but claim it in full. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the region since they won independence from Britain in 1947. Ramadan, which began in Kashmir last Saturday, routinely sees an increase in militant violence. On Thursday, suspected rebels shot dead a member of main opposition and former minister Safdar Ali Beigh in southern Anantnag district and attacked the house of a ruling party politician in central Budgam district. Troops meanwhile killed two rebels in Poonch district, further south overnight, a police spokesman said. Thousands of Muslims offered prayers at Srinagar's main mosque as the region's leading separatist, Muslim cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, delivered a sermon urging Muslims to observe Ramadan strictly and praying for those who have died in the unrest. In southern Bijbehara town special prayers were held for some 43 Muslims who died on this day 11 years ago when Indian border guards opened fire at a group of people protesting a mosque siege, residents said. |
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