May 13, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 7, 1429

JAMMU, May 12: A suspected militant was killed in occupied Kashmir on Monday, officials said, sparking a strike by parties across the political spectrum.

Police and soldiers patrolled the streets of Jammu, following an attempted infiltration by militants from across the LoC, officials said.

“The strike was called to protest against terrorist attacks on innocent civilians,” said Ashok Khajuria, state chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

On Monday, streets were deserted and public transport was off the roads in and around Jammu as political parties held meetings to condemn the killings. A militant was also shot dead when he was trying to sneak into an army camp near Jammu, the army said.

“He was wearing army fatigues and was detected while trying to breach the barbed fence of the camp,” defence spokesman Let-Col S.D. Goswami said.

The incident comes ahead of Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to Pakistan later this month for a review of a four-year-old peace process between the two countries.

Officials said they were checking to see if there were militants hiding in the area.—Reuters