Clashes erupt as EU team visits Kashmir

Dozens of clashes erupted in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday, officials said, as a delegation of mostly far-right European lawmakers paid a contentious visit to the 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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, prompting 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.Local residents voiced anger that the federal government was trying to show the delegation Kashmir was returning to normal.The EU delegation was driven in a cavalcade of black SUVs, accompanied by armed troops and security jeeps, to a military cantonment in Srinagar.This was followed by meetings with civil society members and businessmen, two government officials said.“The government is trying to fool them. If they want to know the ground reality, they should meet the common people,” said Srinagar resident Altaf Ahmed, standing near the site of a protest in the city’s old quarter.“We want to tell them that the government of India is holding us at gunpoint.”At dusk, the EU lawmakers made their way to Srinagar’s picturesque Dal Lake for boat rides on the mirror-calm waters, while security men swarmed the popular tourist site.The Indian government said that the aim was to give the deputies “a better understanding of the cultural and religious diversity” of the region.An EU official in India stressed that it was “not on an official visit”.On August 5 New Delhi revoked Article 370 of the constitution which gave Kashmir the special status.Since then New Delhi has barred scores of its own politicians and a US senator from visiting the region.Visits by foreign journalists are also off limits.Hundreds of local politicians, lawyers and others were rounded up, most of whom still remain in detention.Access to postpaid mobile phones was only restored on October 14 and the Internet remains cut for the Muslim-majority area’s more than 7mn people.The UN High Commission for Human Rights said yesterday that it was “extremely concerned” at the situation.“We urge the Indian authorities to unlock the situation and fully restore the rights that are currently being denied,” it said.Amid allegations of torture and unconfirmed reports of at least six dead civilians, it said major political decisions about the region had been taken without the “participation of the affected population”.However, the UN also said it had received reports of armed groups threatening residents.