OCCUPIED SRINAGAR:
More than 400,000 Hindus took part in a month-long pilgrimage in contested Indian-run Kashmir, authorities said, shrugging off security worries weeks after conflict with Pakistan.
The pilgrimage began on July 3 and closes officially on August 9, but organisers said that lashing rains had damaged narrow paths forcing a premature end.
Official Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said in a statement late Saturday that 415,000 pilgrims had taken part.
Many of the faithful began their trek to the Amarnath ice pillar from near Pahalgam, where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly Hindu tourists in the Muslim-majority region.
New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan, claims Islamabad rejected — triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict.
It was the worst standoff by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a May 10 ceasefire. AFP
