Five civilians have been killed and three others injured in a landmine blast in Indian-administered Kashmir. Police say the attack took place in the town of Baramullah, some 55 kilometres (35 miles) north of the state's summer capital, Srinagar. They say the landmine was buried under the snow along a highway linking Baramullah to Srinagar. Local residents say the explosion took place soon after Indian soldiers had left the area, after searching vehicles and frisking people on the highway. It is not clear who is behind the attack although reports say police suspect Islamic militants were responsible.
The blast comes just a day after the Indian Government appointed a retired bureaucrat to hold talks as part of efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
NN Vohra, formerly the top civil servant in the federal home ministry, has been asked to begin a dialogue with members of the state's legislative assembly.
A new reformist government won office after fresh elections in Indian-administered Kashmir last year. Mainstream political parties in the state have welcomed Mr Vohra's appointment, with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed saying it represented "a golden opportunity".
The leader of the opposition National Conference, a party that has dominated Kashmir politics since Indian independence, also backed the move. "We hope that the new interlocutor will talk to all shades of opinion, and not just confine himself to mainstream political parties," said Omar Abdullah.
India has long stated that Kashmir is its internal problem and that it was willing to speak to elected representatives of the Kashmiri people. But this is a view challenged by Pakistan, which says it is a party to the dispute and must be included in any peace dialogue.
Tue Feb 18
NEW DELHI, India - India has resumed removing land mines it planted along the border with Pakistan last year when the two countries were close to war, the Defense Ministry said Tuesday
The army had stopped demining on Feb. 5 to take stock of the operations, and restarted Feb. 13, the ministry said.
It denied a newspaper report that mine removal was stopped because soldiers doing the work lacked safety gear.
The mines were planted after a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on Dec. 13, 2001. India blamed Pakistan's spy agency and Pakistan-based militants for the attack. Pakistan condemned the attack and denied involvement.
India and Pakistan have gone to war three times since their independence from British rule in 1947. Two of those wars were fought over Kashmir (news - web sites), the Himalayan territory that each controls in part but claims entirely.
The Defense Ministry said the demining had started in November, when the two countries began withdrawing troops from the frontier.
The ministry said it will import state-of-the-art demining equipment and safety gear soon.
The Indian Express had reported that the army stopped removing mines for 17 days in January because the top brass had demanded safety gear such as blast-resistant boots. The Defense Ministry statement did not comment on the report about a pause in January.