June 30, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 25, 1429

SRINAGAR, June 29: Following a week of violent protests, authorities in occupied Kashmir on Sunday reversed a decision to hand over land in the region to a group of Hindu pilgrims.

Officials said on Sunday the state government had taken charge of logistics for a major annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountain grotto, annulling a move to allocate land to the group to build accommodation.

The earlier decision provoked rioting and protest demonstrations, with four protesters killed and over 300 others injured.

A 23-year-old Kashmiri died in a Srinagar hospital on Sunday, a day after he was hurt in police firing, doctors said.

As his body arrived in a Srinagar suburb, protesters chanted “We want freedom” and “We will spill blood for blood”.

Occupied Kashmirs Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said it was “in the interest of the state government and the people at large to not only provide all support and facilities to the pilgrims but also to ensure their full safety and security”.

The officials explained this meant that the board was no longer responsible for organising the pilgrimage.

“The land was being diverted for creating facilities for pilgrims, but now that the state government will be doing that the order gets automatically revoked,” said pro-India politician Mehbooba Mufti whose PDP had pulled out of the state government over the issue.

Kashmiri leaders say the land transfer was a ploy to settle Indian Hindus in the region.

—Agencies