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I ndia plans to reduce its security forces by a quarter in the Himalayan region of Kashmir to ease conditions for people in one of the world's most militarised areas, a top official said on Friday, 14th January 2011. The unexpected announcement on Kashmir by Home Secretary G.K. Pillai is intended to rebuild fractured public goodwill after a violent uprising by young people in the Muslim-majority region last year. New Delhi faced one of the biggest challenges to its grip on the divided and disputed territory last summer when more than 100 people were shot dead by security forces during violent demonstrations. Speaking at a university seminar on Kashmir in the Indian capital, Pillai said the aim was "to pull out 25 percent of troops from populated areas in the next 12 months as a confidence-building measure." The presence of hundreds of thousands of paramilitary and army troops in Kashmir -- India does not disclose official troop figures -- is seen by local politic

At least five protesters have been shot dead by police on Wednesday leading  the death toll to 23 number of people in the last three days as violence in Indian-administered Kashmir spreads to new areas. The fatal shooting on Wednesday came as the Indian government held crisis talks in New Delhi to tackle the escalating unrest. Officials said police fired on an angry crowd in the previously quiet town of Mendhar, a Muslim settlement in a Hindu-dominated area to the southwest of Kashmir, 210km from the town of Jammu. "Four youths have been killed in the firing and several government buildings  were attacked and burnt down by the angry protesters," Pawan Kotwal, a top local government official, told reporters. Another death was reported by local police in the volatile northern town of Sopore, where police shot a 24-year-old man. Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, called for calm and said he was "shocked and distressed" by the demonstrations engulfing the