India: Tourist advisory raises panic in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

A government advisory in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday directed tourists and Hindu pilgrims in the region to “return as soon as possible”, citing intelligence inputs of “terror threats”.

“Keeping in view the latest intelligence inputs of terror threats with specific targeting of the Amarnath Yatra [pilgrimage], and given the prevailing security situation in the Kashmir Valley, in the interest of safety and security of the tourists and Amarnath Yatris, it is advised that they may curtail their stay in the valley immediately and take necessary measures to return as soon as possible," said the advisory issued by the Home Department in Jammu and Kashmir.

Amarnath Yatra is an annual Hindu pilgrimage in which hundreds of thousands pilgrims visit Amarnath cave in the region situated at an altitude of more than 3,800 meters.

The advisory came after Indian government last week flew 10,000 more troops into Kashmir, adding to its half a million troops already stationed in the region. On Thursday, India Today, a local broadcaster, reported that additional 28,000 paramilitary troops were being airlifted to Kashmir.

The advisory triggered panic in Kashmir, with people thronged local markets to stock essential items, fearing an offensive from the Indian forces.

The Indian forces on Friday also claimed to have recovered a mine and a sniper rifle along the Amarnath pilgrimage route.

“There were signs over the past month that something ominous is coming around August 15. It has been in the air,” said Zubair Ahmad, a computer professional working in Srinagar.

“There is not much we can do, since we have no idea about what’s coming our way. We are passing days in uncertainty, and now as the Indian government is asking Indian tourists to immediately return, we can sense that they are going to do something here,” Ahmad said.

- 'Unprecedented order'

Former Chief Minister of Kashmir Omar Abdullah also criticized the Indian government’s advisory.

“Although this unprecedented order would seem to suggest a genuine fear of a massive terror strike directed at Amarnath ji yatris or/and tourists, this will do nothing to dampen the sense of fear & foreboding that prevails in the valley at the moment,” Abdullah said.

Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Also, in Siachen glacier in northern Kashmir, Indian and Pakistani troops have fought intermittently since 1984. A cease-fire came into effect in 2003.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.