Anti-India protest in Kashmir on Indian Independence Day

Protesters rallied in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir on Thursday, calling for and end to Indian rule in the disputed region, as India was celebrating the anniversary of its independence from Britain.

Several hundred demonstrators marched through the streets of Muzaffarabad chanting "down with Indian democracy" and "we want freedom".

Some held placards reading "India has no right to celebrate independence".

They set fire to Indian flags and burnt an effigy of the Indian Defense Minister AK Antony.

Protester Shoukat Javed Mir called on the international community to intervene in Pakistan's dispute with India.

He warned of disastrous consequences - "nuclear war among between two nuclear countries" - if other nations failed to play a role.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over control of Kashmir since they won independence from Britain in 1947.

The region is divided between the two countries, who claim it in entirety.

A 2003 ceasefire agreement has largely calmed the disputed border between the countries.

They occasionally accuse each other of violating it by firing mortars or gunshots, and several soldiers were killed on each side in January in cross-border attacks.

The latest round of violence began last Tuesday when, according to the Indian military, 20 heavily-armed militants and Pakistani soldiers crossed the Kashmir border and killed five Indian troops.

The Pakistani military has denied that its soldiers killed any Indian troops and accused Indian soldiers of killing a pair of civilians and wounding two others along the border over the last week.

Protesters in Muzaffarabad on Thursday handed a memorandum to a United Nations peacekeeper.

A UN-brokered peace plan was made for Kashmir in 1949 that included a ceasefire, demilitarization, and a plebiscite under the supervision of a UN-appointed administrator.

The UN Security Council urged that the people of Kashmir would have the right to determine their own future.

The resolution was accepted by both India and Pakistan, but separatist rebels have been fighting since 1989 for the region's independence from India or merger with Pakistan.


AP