. Earth Science News .
Pakistani Police Shoot In Air, Fire Tear Gas At Angry Kashmiris

A Pakistani (R) soldier and his Indian counterpart (L) talk as they stand at their checkposts at the line of control in Tatapani (hot spring) in Kashmir, 07 November 2005. Pakistan and India opened their frontier in Kashmir for earthquake relief, but police had to fire tear gas to disperse protesters who were banned from taking part in the symbolic crossing.The nuclear rivals exchanged tents, food and medical supplies after army commanders and government officials from the two sides met and shook hands across the heavily militarised Line of Control (LoC). AFP photo/Pool /Mian Khursheed.

Kashmir, Line Of Control (AFP) Nov 07, 2005
Pakistani police shot in the air and fired tear gas Monday to disperse hundreds of angry Kashmiris who surged towards the Indian side of the Line of Control.

A large crowd of villagers had gathered to watch a ceremony in which Indian and Pakistani troops formally opened the de facto frontier that divides Kashmir to allow earthquake relief goods to cross between the two sides.

The crowd grew restless as it became clear only relief goods and not people would be allowed to cross the frontier, and many started chanting slogans demanding freedom for Kashmiris.

As volleys of gunfire rang out, the crowd retreated some 200 metres.

Earlier, two men and two children who tried to run across the LoC were tackled by police and bundled into a van.

Nazar Kat, a member of the crowd not involved in the protest, said they had come from Titrinote, the main town near the crossing, as well as nearby mountain villages and were angry that they could not see relatives on the other side.

"They are shouting because they want a free Kashmir. They want all parts of the region to be independent, including Azad (Pakistani) Kashmir and Indian-occupied Kashmir," Kat told AFP.

"It is an injustice that we are not allowed to cross the LoC ourselves," sad Itifaq Khaliq, a 25-year-old student and one of the protesters.

"These people are unable to understand what is going on, it is all happening behind the curtain, it is backdoor diplomacy between India and Pakistan."

Police carrying Kalashnikov rifles and batons maintained a heavy presence even after the situation had apparently calmed down.

Local leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, which wants an independent state, later gave speeches to the crowd and urged them to stay where they were until the Indian and Pakistan authorities allowed them to cross the frontier.

"The generals of Pakistan are stealing the things that belong to Kashmir. They are making their palace from the wealth of Kashmir," JKLF leader Zulfiqar Naqvi told the crowed.

A local JKLF leader, Ansar Ahmed, called for Kashmiri to be allowed through the crossing immediately to help family members on the other side who were hit by the quake.

"These people are victims of India, Pakistan and now the earthquake," he said.

The October 8 quake killed killed 73,276 people in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir and about 1,300 in Indian Kashmir.

Civilians were not allowed to cross because the two countries have not yet exchanged lists of those wishing to do so, as required under their October 30 agreement to oppen the border. Pakistan's foreign ministry also said many Kashmiris were unaware of the procedures.

"Because of the widespread devastation the information about crossing procedures took some time to trickle down," ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.

"Lots of people did not realise that they would require application forms and clearances to be able to cross over," she said.

"That is why not many people applied for permission to cross over. Instead they just walked up to the Line of Control (LoC) to that point to go over," she said.

"I can say that because of these teething problems there are not many applications at the moment."

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

India And Pakistan Open Kashmir Border For Quake Aid
Kashmir, Line Of Control (AFP) Nov 07, 2005
Pakistan and India Monday opened their frontier in Kashmir for earthquake relief, but police had to fire tear gas to disperse protesters who were banned from taking part in the symbolic crossing.







  • India And Pakistan Open Kashmir Border For Quake Aid
  • Pakistani Police Shoot In Air, Fire Tear Gas At Angry Kashmiris
  • Researchers To Present Findings On New Orleans Levee Breaches
  • Pakistan Quake-Hit Villages Still Cut Off As Grim Ramadan Ends

  • Western States To Host First Test Of Carbon Sequestration In Lava Rock
  • Model Helps Assess Ocean-Injection Strategy For Combating Greenhouse Effect
  • Environmental Cloud On Horizon For Mediterranean, Warns UN
  • Model Helps Assess Ocean-Injection Strategy For Combating Greenhouse Effect

  • Digitalglobe And Valtus To Instantly Serve-Up Imagery Via Secure Web
  • Boeing Wins $10 Million Major Weather Satellite Study Contract
  • L-3 Comm And QinetiQ Sign MoU For ISTAR And ISR Program Collaboration
  • Boeing Awarded National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Security Data Contracts

  • Delaware To Lead Program To Develop Very High Efficiency Solar Cell
  • China To Spend 180 Billion Dollars To Boost Renewable Energy Use
  • British Government To Require Biofuels
  • Beijing Presses Moscow To Build Oil Pipeline To China

  • Fluwrap: China Fears Human Case
  • Analysis: U.N., Bird Flu Preparation
  • Fluwrap: Money Dominates Flu Fears
  • FluWrap: Import Bans May Spread Disease

  • Odd Energy Mechanism In Bacteria Analyzed
  • Newly Recognized Gene Mutation May Reduce Seeds, Resurrect Plants
  • Britain's Panda On The Run Found Hiding Up A Tree
  • Bees Solve Complex Colour Puzzles

  • Health Warning As Beijing Pollution Hits Worst Level
  • Lagos Seals Up Rubber Recycling Firm Over Pollution Threat
  • Bangladeshi People Can Help Combat Arsenic Poisoning: Researchers
  • NOAA Tests For Gulf Of Mexico Contaminates

  • California Scientists Double Volume Of Data In NIH Biotech Repository
  • Flipped Genetic Sequences Illuminate Human Evolution And Disease
  • Color Perception Is Not In The Eye Of The Beholder: It's In The Brain
  • Cornell Finds Natural Selection in Humans

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement