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US Senator Barred From Kashmir as Lockdown Enters 3rd Month

Associated Press

   NEW DELHI - A U.S. senator and a well-known Indian activist were barred
   from visiting Indian-administered Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan
   territory where at least 10 people were injured Saturday in a grenade
   blast as a government security and communications lockdown entered a
   third month.

   Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said the blast was caused by a
   militant attack and occurred near the office of a civil administrator
   in Anantnag.

   He said a police official and a journalist were among those hurt and
   suffered minor injuries.

   "It was a militant attack," he said, without elaborating. "Police are
   probing to identify and nab the culprit."

   Daily life disrupted

   Since removing several constitutional provisions in August that gave
   the state of Jammu and Kashmir semi-autonomy, Indian authorities have
   flooded the Kashmir Valley, the heart of a decades-old armed
   insurgency, with thousands of additional troops.

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