India has announced plans to help thousands of Kashmiri Hindus, or Pandits, return to “composite townships” in India-administered Kashmir, from which they fled in hordes 25 years ago after an armed rebellion broke out against New Delhi’s rule. The plan is opposed by pro-independence groups as well as a segment of Kashmiri Hindus in the Muslim-majority region who see it as a replication.
Fresh rains and mudslides have halted efforts to recover the body of a six-year-old boy buried under mounds of mud, four days after landslides and flash floods pummeled India-administered Kashmir for the second time in seven months. Amid heavy rains and recurring landslides, rescuers made another abortive bid on Thursday to recover the body of Faisal Ahmad, who was buried along with 11 family.
