SRINAGAR, India, March 7, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi is
to hold a rally in main city of Indian-administrated Kashmir on Thursday, on
his first visit since the disputed region's semi-autonomy was cancelled in
2019.

Modi's government stripped the Muslim-majority territory of its special
constitutional status, splitting the former state into two territories
directly ruled from New Delhi.

The move, widely welcomed across India, angered many in the densely
militarised territory.

Rebels in the Himalayan region have waged an insurgency since 1989, seeking
independence or a merger with Pakistan -- which controls a smaller part the
Kashmir region and, like India, claims it in full.

Thousands of armed police and paramilitary forces were deployed, and new
checkpoints set up across Kashmir's main city Srinagar, where the Hindu
nationalist leader is scheduled to address a public gathering around midday.

"Various development works will also be dedicated to the nation," Modi said
in a statement on social media platform X ahead of the visit, including
programmes "boosting the agro-economy" as well as tourism.

A government statement said Modi will also inaugurate infrastructure around
the revered Muslim shrine of Hazratbal.

The visit comes ahead of India's national elections due by May, the first
since the region lost its autonomy. The last local elections in Kashmir were
held in 2014.

Modi's government claims New Delhi's direct rule of Kashmir brought about a
new era of "peace and development" in the region, but critics and many
residents say it heralded a drastic curtailment of civil liberties and press
freedom.

Security forces on Thursday patrolled the streets, as well as in motorboats
along the river that runs through Srinagar.

Most schools in the city are shut for the day, and the authorities have
called on government employees to attend the rally.

Omar Abdulla, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, accused the
government of organising buses to bring in crowds to attend the rally,
alleging that "almost none" would be attending willingly.