SRINAGAR, May 23: Indian troops sealed off large parts of Srinagar following grenade attacks and murders ahead of a visit on Wednesday by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Combat troops backed up commandos and border guards in Srinagar, where residents in several districts found themselves corralled into “sanitised zones” on Tuesday amid unprecedented security before Singh’s two-day trip.
“There is very tight security in view of the roundtable conference and the prime minister’s visit and operations are going on across the valley,” Indian army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Vijay Batra said.
He said Dr Singh would head straight for a meeting of security commanders to review the situation in occupied Kashmir.
Militants have vowed to disrupt the talks aimed at restoring peace in the restive state.
Seven people died and 22 were wounded on Sunday when militants opposing peace efforts attacked hundreds of people at a political event in Srinagar.
The restrictions in the city of one million led to frayed tempers as office workers were forced to travel many extra miles on circuitous routes.
“Why can’t the prime minister stay home in New Delhi and hold all his talks there?” asked resident Ghulam Rasool as he escorted his daughter to school near Srinagar’s heavily-fortified airport zone.
Despite heightened security, a suicide bomber on Tuesday rammed a car packed with explosives into a bus carrying Indian paramilitary troopers in Srinagar, injuring 27.
The attack, in which the bomber was killed, took place at Hyderpora along a key route leading to Srinagar’s airport, an officer from the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) said.
Kashmir’s dominant rebel group, the Hizbul Mujahideen, claimed responsibility for the attack in a call to local media offices in Srinagar.
The venue for the peace conference on the banks of Dal Lake was out of bounds to traffic on Tuesday. Soldiers with automatic weapons and shoulder-fired rocket launchers patrolled the lake on powerboats.
The prospect of progress in the talks, meant to group all sides committed to the peace process, was clouded by boycotts and threats of boycotts.
The United Jehad Council, a forum of 16 militant groups, called a two-day general strike to coincide with Dr Singh’s visit and branded the roundtable “a sham”.
On Monday the moderate faction of Kashmir’s main alliance, the Hurriyat or Freedom Alliance, turned down its invitation to the talks which it termed “futile”.
India’s Hindu nationalist BJP party also rejected the talks, prompting Occupied Kashmir’s Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to say the boycotters were making a mistake because they would lose a chance to make their cases.
“The Hurriyat and the others will be losers by boycotting because various political parties have readied their proposals and suggestions for the talks,” said Mr Azad, a member of Dr Singh’s Congress party.—AFP
