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Indo-Pak Conflict Over Kashmir

Trump calls for easing tensions

Speaks to Modi over phone; schools reopen in the valley; Pakistan extends army chiefs tenure

Agencies
US President Donald Trump on Monday spoke with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging a reduction of tension between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region.
"The president conveyed the importance of reducing tensions between India and Pakistan and maintaining peace in the region," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement, according to an AFP report.
"The two leaders further discussed how they will continue to strengthen United States-India economic ties through increased trade, and they look forward to meeting again soon."
Meanwhile, schools reopened in Indian Kashmir's main city yesterday but most classrooms were empty as parents kept their children home, fearing unrest over the government's decision two weeks ago to revoke the region's autonomy.
The authorities said that they were re-opening 190 primary schools in the city yet few children could be seen at half a dozen places visited by AFP.
Parents said their children would stay home until cellular networks are restored and they can be in contact with them.
"How can we risk the lives of our children?" said Gulzar Ahmad, a father of two who are enrolled in a school in the cit/s Batamallo district where protests have occurred.
"Troops have arrested minor children in the last two weeks and several children were injured in clashes, he said. "Our children are safe inside their homes. If they go to school who can guarantee their safety?"
Authorities were not immediately available for comment, but have previously denied reports of mass arrests.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, was handed a three-year extension yesterday as tension with neighbouring India flared over the disputed territory of Kashmir, the prime minister's office said.
"The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment," the prime minister's office said in a statement announcing the decision.
Bajwa's tenure was due to end in November but analysts have long predicted the extension.
Protests began after the August 5 decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to withdraw Kashmir's special status and integrate it fully into India, with equal rights for all Indians to buy property there and compete for government jobs.
Critics said the decision will alienate many Kashmiris and add fuel to a 30-year armed revolt in the Himalayan territory that Pakistan also lays claim to.
On the weekend, residents of Srinagar - the hotbed of the separatist revolt - threw stones and clashed with police. Dozens of people were injured, two senior officials and witnesses said.
Reuters journalists visited two dozen schools in Srinagar yesterday. Some schools were lightly staffed and classrooms deserted. Gates at other
schools were locked.
Only one student showed up at Presentation Convent Higher Secondary School, which has an enrolment of 1,000 pupils, and went home, said a school official.
A handful of teachers but no students turned up at the barricaded Bum Hall school in one of the city's high security zones.
"How can students come to classes in such a volatile situation? The government is turning these little children into cannon fodder," a teacher said, adding that schools should stay closed until the situation is normal.
CROSS BORDER FIRING
New Delhi's decision on Kashmir has heightened tensions with its neighbour and rival nuclear power, Pakistan, and triggered cross-border exchanges of fire.
In the latest incident, two civilians were killed in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir by Indian soldiers firing across the disputed border, Pakistan's foreign ministry said, adding that it had summoned India's deputy commissioner in Islamabad to protest.
"The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation," the foreign ministry said.
There was no immediate comment from India which has previously accused Pakistan of trying to whip up tensions to draw global attention.
Some 120,000 extra soldiers have been deployed, a security source told AFP, joining around 500,000 already in the northern Himalayan region divided with Pakistan since 1947.