Mass Hindu pilgrimage wraps up in contested Kashmir
The pilgrimage began on July 3 and will officially close on Aug 9, but organisers said that lashing rains had damaged narrow paths and forced a premature end.
Official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said in a statement late on Saturday that 415,000 pilgrims had taken part.
Many of the faithful began their trek to the Amarnath ice pillar from near Pahalgam, where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists in the Muslim-majority region.
New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan, claims Islamabad rejected – triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict.
It was the worst stand-off by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides before a May 10 ceasefire.
New Delhi last week said that three Pakistani men who carried out the Pahalgam attack were killed during a gun battle on July 28 in forests adjacent to the hills where the cave shrine is located.
Officials appealed to Hindus to undertake the pilgrimage, ramping up security for the event by deploying 45,000 troops with high-tech surveillance tools overseeing the gruelling trek to the cave, dedicated to Shiva, the deity of destruction.
Yesterday, Indian forces and gunmen exchanged fire for a third day in Kulgam, far from the Amarnath pilgrimage route.
Soldiers have killed two militants, a senior police officer said.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, with both administering it in part and claiming in full.
Rebel groups have fought Indian forces for decades, demanding Kashmir's independence or its merger with Pakistan. — AFP
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