SRINAGAR, India, 9 November 2007 — Indian authorities said yesterday they had barred 300 Kashmiris from making this year’s annual Haj pilgrimage because they allegedly had ties to rebels.
“Some 300 would-be pilgrims have failed to clear the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) investigations,” Kashmir’s Haj Minister Peerzada Mohammed Sayeed told reporters.
All Indian Muslims intending to do the Haj are vetted by the country’s security agencies. A senior police officer said that those who were barred were found to have links to rebels. Security officials argue that Indian Kashmiris may use the annual event, which is to take place in December this year, to link up with their Pakistani contacts.
Kashmir is in the grip of an 18-year-old insurgency against Indian rule that has so far claimed more than 42,000 lives. India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring militants.
More than 8,000 Kashmiris are expected to do the Haj this year.
