Muslims, Hindus Meet in Kashmir

Leaders of Kashmir’s Muslim separatists and exiled Hindus met for the first time in 15 years in a reconciliation bid Tuesday in the Himalayan territory.

About 40 leaders of Kashmiri Hindus, known here as Pandits, met representatives of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, or APHC, an alliance of Kashmiri separatist groups, in Srinagar to discuss the safe return of Hindus to the territory.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in its entirety by both. Militant groups have been fighting since 1989 for Indian-held Kashmir’s independence from the predominantly Hindu nation, or for its merger with neighboring Muslim-majority Pakistan. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Kashmir’s Pandits, who once numbered more than 250,000, fled just after the insurgency began, fearing militant attacks in the Muslim-majority region. There are now fewer than 25,000 Pandits.

Nearly 2,000 Hindus have been killed in the insurgency, according to a Kashmiri Hindu group.

Violence continued this morning, when a bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into an army jeep, sparking a blast that killed five soldiers, a civilian and himself in an elite Srinigar neighborhood, police said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility.