Kashmir investigation rejected

The Indian Government has rejected an opposition demand to order a judicial inquiry into the killings of nearly 30 Hindu pilgrims in Indian-administered Kashmir earlier this month.

The Home Minister, LK Advani, said at the end of a parliamentary debate on the issue that a high-level inquiry was already underway.

He said another one could only be ordered if the current investigation pointed to any security lapses.

The opposition demand for a judicial inquiry follows a number of newspaper reports that some pilgrims may have been shot by Indian security forces rather than by Kashmiri militants.

The killings were blamed on separatists opposed to a ceasefire by a militant group which has now broken down.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service