Indian police blame Pakistan for Jammu and Kashmir strife that killed 12

SRINAGAR — Police in India's territory of Jammu and Kashmir blamed arch rival Pakistan on Wednesday (June 12) for a spate of militant attacks that has killed 12 people and injured dozens over the last three days.

Pakistan claims the Himalayan region, which has been roiled by militant violence since the start of an anti-Indian insurgency in 1989 that killed tens of thousands, although violence has waned in recent years.

"Our hostile neighbour wants to damage our peaceful environment," Anand Jain, police chief of Jammu, told reporters in a reference to Pakistan, which India has accused of stoking violence in the region for decades.

A spokesperson for Pakistan's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. It has denied such claims in the past, saying it has given only political and diplomatic support to the insurgency.

Gunbattles in the area on Tuesday killed two militants and a paramilitary soldier while injuring a civilian and six security personnel, authorities said.

A third gunbattle broke out late on Wednesday in the Doda area of Jammu region, injuring one police official, police said.

"Army and police launched an operation in Tanta Top village of Doda district today after intelligence inputs about presence of a group of militants in the area. The militants fired on the troops injuring a policeman. The gun battle is on," the official, who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said.

Frozen ties

The incidents came two days after nine Hindu pilgrims were killed and 41 injured when militants attacked a bus taking them to a Hindu shrine on Sunday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, head of the Hindu nationalist BJP, was sworn in for a third term.

The