Crowds mourn the death of a family of five following a grenade attack in a village near Srinagar. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

A woman comforts her relative as they mourn the death of five of their family members, who were killed when a grenade exploded in the hands of a man who was seeking to extort money from a family in Badgam district of Kashmir. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim holds his blood stained hands to his chest after flagellating himself in a procession in Srinagar, India, commemorating the slaying of Imam Hussain, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

A woman is beaten to the ground after attempting to protest the thousands of people who have gone missing, allegedly taken by Indian security forces, in Kashmir, India. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

Kashmiri police arrest a man for protesting with the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in Srinagar. At least a dozen people were wounded when police used batons to disperse hundreds of protestors. APDP says more than six thousand people have gone missing since the bloody revolt erupted in Kashmir in 1989. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

A Kashmiri family cries at the loss of their home, destroyed after a militant demanded to hide there. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

Relatives mourn the death of Samreena Iqbal (18), who was killed in an attack on Kashmir's Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Syed in Beeru. The minister escaped after two grenades were thrown at his group. A spokesman of Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, a hardline Kashmiri group, claimed that they had carried out the attack. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

The family of Abdul Rashid, a senior leader of the Hizbul Mujahedin, mourns his death after he was killed by India's Border Security force (BSF) in a clash that erupted after security forces raided a rebel hideout in Kashmir's central Badgam district. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

Children weep as the bodies of five relatives are brought back to their village in the Badgam district of Kashmir, after their house had been blown up by a militant's grenade. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

Villagers mourn the death of five people who were killed, when a grenade exploded in the hands of a man who was seeking to extort money from a family in the Badgam district of Kashmir. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

An Indian army officer, Badgam district, India. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

The body of a foreign militant lies on the ground in Kashmir. The dispute between India and Pakistan over claims to the mountainous northern region of Kashmir has continued for more than 50 years, and has at least twice led to war between the two nuclear powers. The area is controlled by India, but has a 60 per cent Muslim majority. Since 1989, in addition to the demands of Delhi and Islamabad, several other separatist groups have pursued rival claims to the territory, and Muslim insurgency has been on the increase. Cross-border firing and separatist militancy have left a death toll running into tens of thousands. Towards the end of 2004, India and Pakistan appeared to reach some rapprochement over Pakistan, and tensions eased.

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