KASHMIR: A general view of Kashmir city from the top of a hill in Srinagar. _ AFP

NEW DELHI:
Authorities yesterday defended blocking opposition Indian politicians from
visiting Muslim-majority Kashmir, saying it was to "avoid
controversy" weeks after stripping the restive region of its autonomy and
imposing a major clampdown. India's Hindu-nationalist government has been
criticized by the main opposition Congress party over the contentious move on
August 5 that brings Kashmir - which has waged an armed rebellion against
Indian control since 1989 - under its direct rule. The region remains under
strict lockdown with movement limited and many phone and internet services cut,
although authorities say they have been easing restrictions gradually.

Former Congress
president Rahul Gandhi, still a key figure in India as a scion of the powerful
Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, was earlier invited by local governor Satya Pal
Malik to visit Kashmir. But video released by Congress showed Gandhi
questioning officials about why he was stopped from entering Kashmir's main
city of Srinagar at the airport on Saturday. "The governor has said I'm
invited. He has invited me so I have come but you're saying I can't go,"
he said.

"And
government is saying everything is OK, everything is normal. So if everything
is normal, why are we not allowed out? It is a bit surprising." Regional
police chief Dilbagh Singh told AFP police supported the decision. "In an
environment that is getting to normalcy, we didn't want any controversial
statement from anyone. That's why they were asked to return from the airport
itself," Singh said. Malik told the ANI news agency he invited Gandhi out
of good will but that he then politicized the issue.

The controversy
came as key separatist group Hurriyat Conference, a coalition of local
political parties, released its first official comments since the clampdown and
called for locals to "resist at this critical juncture" New Delhi's
move. "Each and every person must face the naked Indian brutality with
courage... People should organise peaceful protests and demonstrations in their
areas of residence," top separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani said in a
statement obtained by AFP.

The Hurriyat
Conference, which supports Kashmir's right to choose whether it wants to be
part of India or Pakistan, added that Pakistan and the wider Muslim community
should "come forward to... help the besieged people". The call came
as India's home affairs ministry refuted a report by India's News18 television
yesterday that the region was running out of lifesaving medicines, saying
supplies were "slightly higher than the monthly average".- AFP