PAKISTAN: FUNERAL OF MILITIAMEN KILLED IN KASHMIR

(9 Jul 1999) Urdu/Nat

More than 7-thousand men paid tribute to six fighters of religious Muslim groups who died several days ago fighting the Indian army in Kashmir.

Several thousand Kashmiri people marched through the streets carrying crude wooden coffins bearing the dead Muslim militants.

The Pakistani government said it would try to persuade the militants to withdraw from disputed territory in Kashmir, but this request has been rejected and has sparked nationwide protests against Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

A funeral service for Muslim fighters killed in the war with India over the disputed land of Kashmir was held on Friday.

The ceremony took place in Muzaffarabad and was attended by seven thousand men.

Wooden coffins were uncovered to give grieving relatives a last look at their loved ones.

Indian troops have been battling Muslim insurgents since May 26 in a bid to dislodge them from their positions.

New Delhi accuses Islamabad of sending infiltrators, including Afghan mercenaries and soldiers disguised as guerrillas.

But Pakistan denies the charge and calls them indigenous freedom fighters.

Tehrik-e-Jehad and Al-Badar are two of the six groups which have captured mountain heights in Indian-Kashmir's Kargil area, overlooking India's only supply route to the region.

The fighters have rejected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's promise to U-S President Bill Clinton to withdraw Muslim militants from Kargil.

Salim Wani, a leader of Tehrik-e-Jehad vowed that his men will not retreat.

SOUNDBITE: (Urdu)
"India has given us a bad name. The Kashmiris are fighting this war and the Kashmiri's alone."
SUPERCAPTION: Salim Wani, a leader of Tehrik-e-Jehad

After the coffins were sealed - prayers were said before the burial took place.

The coffins were then carried through the streets to be lowered into the ground.

Many children have also been injured during the fighting.

SOUNDBITE: (Urdu)
"My wounds hurt a lot ... I was hit by India. It is attacking us. It is the enemy."
SUPERCAPTION: Vox Pop

Both Pakistan and India hold part of Kashmir and both countries claim the rest.

The two countries have already fought two wars over this former princely state since their independence from Britain in 1947.

Islamabad now faces pressure from world powers to ease tensions with India and prevent a full-scale war by appealing to militants to give up their positions in Kargil.

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