Clashes as far-right EU lawmakers visit Kashmir

Srinagar, India - Dozens of clashes erupted in Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said, as a delegation of mostly far-right European lawmakers paid a contentious visit to the restive region stripped of its autonomy in August.

With a curfew in many parts of Srinagar, police fired tear gas and shotgun pellets as around 40 clashes flared across the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

It was unclear if there were any injuries.

Late Monday militants also shot dead a truck driver, the sixth such killing targeting the vital apple sector, while a grenade injured 20 people elsewhere in the state, authorities said.

The delegation of around 30 European lawmakers - including far-right deputies from Poland, France, Germany and Britain - met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, prompted accusations that it aimed to blunt criticism of New Delhi over Kashmir.

One MEP from Britain’s centrist Liberal Democrats, Chris Davies, said the Indian government withdrew his invitation after he insisted on being able to talk to locals without a police escort.

‘I am not prepared to take part in a PR stunt for the Modi government and pretend that all is well’, Davies said in a statement.

The delegation included members of the nationalist, anti-immigration and eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, France’s National Rally, the Brexit Party and Poland’s Law and Justice.

The Indian government said that the aim was to give the deputies ‘a better understanding of the cultural and religious diversity’ of the region.

Militants shot dead a truck driver on Monday, the sixth such killing targeting the apple sector