Dozens of clashes erupt as EU MPs visit Kashmir
Dozens of clashes erupted in Indian Kashmir yesterday, officials said, as a delegation of mostly far-right European lawmakers paid a contentious visit to the restive region stripped of its autonomy in August.
With a curfew in many parts of the main city, Srinagar, police fired tear gas and shotgun pellets as around 40 clashes flared across the Kashmir Valley, officials said.
It was unclear if there were any injuries.
Late Monday militants also shot dead a truck driver, the sixth such killing targeting the vital apple sector, while a grenade injured 20 people elsewhere, authorities said.
The delegation of around 30 European lawmakers -- including far-right deputies from Poland, France, Germany and Britain -- met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, prompted accusations that it aimed to blunt criticism of New Delhi over Kashmir.
One MEP from Britain’s centrist Liberal Democrats, Chris Davies, said the Indian government withdrew his invitation after he insisted on being able to talk to locals without a police escort.
“I am not prepared to take part in a PR stunt for the Modi government and pretend that all is well,” Davies said in a statement.
The delegation included members of the nationalist, anti-immigration and eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, France’s National Rally, the Brexit Party and Poland’s Law and Justice.
Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since 1947, and on August 5 New Delhi revoked the special status of the part of the region that it administers.
Since then New Delhi has barred scores of its own politicians and a US senator from visiting the Himalayan region. Visits by foreign journalists are also off limits.
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