Strike shuts Muslim Kashmir on India's Independence Day

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SRINAGAR, Aug 15 (AFP): A separatist-led strike paralysed life in revolt-hit Kashmir on India's Independence Day Wednesday, police said, as troops deployed against rebel attacks.
The strike, sponsored by both hardline and moderate factions of the state's separatist alliance, cleared the streets of the summer capital Srinagar and shut all shops and businesses.
The picture was the same in other Muslim-dominated towns of Kashmir, but life was normal in Jammu, the Hindu-majority winter capital, residents told AFP.
Kashmiri militants and separatists observe India's national celebration as a "black day". Britian's August 1947 withdrawal from the sub-continent led to the partition of India, the birth of Pakistan and the division of Kashmir between them.
Separatists favour Kashmir's merger with Pakistan or its independence.