Foreign journalists are rarely allowed entry into Kashmir, but the Indian government invited the ABC to visit the capital as part of a G20 event. Here's what we found.
Both countries claim the region in its entirety, with the areas under separate administration, divided by a so-called Line of Control.This month's G20 meeting is being used by the government to signal to the world that India has reached its goal of peace in Kashmir and everything is back to normal on the ground.
But the immense military presence was still visible, with officers standing on footpaths every few metres with several checkpoints across the city."Whenever there's a meeting of this scale with 20 high level delegations from 20 different countries, you always have a scaled-up security, so please take it very supportively my friends," he told the media.
"We know there are terrorists, but we haven't felt that … international tourists should visit once before they die and enjoy the beauty of Kashmir."But convincing foreign visitors remains a challenge, as countries like Australia, Canada, and the US advise their citizens to avoid all travel to the area because of terror attacks and violent civil unrest.
five Indian soldiers were killed by separatist rebels during a military operation near the Line of ControlAuthorities said they had intelligence suggesting militants might target a school and take students hostage, so they shut them down until after the G20 meeting. When asked about the treatment of the press at a G20 media conference, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, denied there was a problem.
As one businessman was describing the situation, he said he feared a man who veered over to listen into the conversation was an undercover officer."That man is undercover security, if I say the wrong thing, he will come here tomorrow and arrest me, and I have to think about my family."
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