Thousands of demonstrators on Wednesday staged noisy anti-India protests in revolt-hit Kashmir after prayers to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan.
Thousands of Muslims poured into the streets, shouting, “We want freedom!” and “Allah is great,” after offering Eid prayers in the northern town of Sopore, about an hour’s drive from Srinagar.
The protests were led by separatist Syed Ali Geelani following prayers for the Muslim Eidul Fitr festival.
Geelani addressed a huge gathering in Sopore’s main square, urging India to end its “occupation of Kashmir”.
“People of India are our brothers. We have no animosity towards them. We only urge India to end its occupation of Kashmir,” Geelani said, as mainly young Kashmiri men chanted: “Go India, go back!”
Sopore was once the bastion of pro-Pakistan militants but in recent years the guerrilla presence has lessened following the start of a peace process between India and Pakistan.
Kashmir is in the grip of a more than 20-year-old insurgency against Indian rule that has left more than 47,000 people dead.
Indian-administered Kashmir remains under heavy military control but this summer has not seen the cycle of violence and strict curfews that hit the disputed Himalayan region in recent years.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in its entirety by both nations. The dispute has triggered two of the three wars fought by the neighbours since independence from colonial rule in 1947.
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