Kashmir separatist arrested

The arrest of Mr Malik sparked protests in Srinagar

Separatist leader Yasin Malik has been arrested as he left an anti-terrorism court in Jammu, police in Indian-administered Kashmir said.

The police said Mr Malik, who is the head of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, would be taken to Delhi in connection with another case.

Protests broke out in Srinagar over the arrest, with the Associated Press news agency reporting tear gas had been used by police to disperse an angry mob.

Mr Malik was also detained for nine months by the Indian authorities last year following allegations of planning to receive funds smuggled into Kashmir from Pakistan.

The influential separatist's latest arrest followed a hearing over the case at a courthouse in Jammu, Kashmir's winter capital.

Police took Mr Malik by plane to India's capital, Delhi, for a separate court case in which the JKLF leader is alleged to have received funds to promote terrorism in 1992, AP reported.

Mr Malik denies all the charges.

The JKLF and its sympathisers also protested when Mr Malik was arrested last year, with a day-long strike shutting down much of Indian-administered Kashmir.

The organisation declared a unilateral ceasefire in 1994 and since then has concentrated on a political solution to the crisis.

It is one of the oldest separatist organisations and favours the independence of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan.

In a separate development, an Indian air force soldier was killed when Pakistani troops allegedly opened fire across the line of control dividing Kashmir on Monday.