Kashmir anger at cricket pull-out

Officials in Indian-controlled Kashmir are protesting over the last-minute withdrawal of an Indian armed services team from a cricket fixture there.

The Services Sports Control Board said conditions were not conducive for the team to play - reports said security reasons were behind the decision.

The team forfeited the match and was banned from the rest of the tournament.

Farooq Abdullah, who chairs the state's cricket association, blamed officials who did not want peace and progress.

Mr Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said the decision contradicted the Indian government's positive assessment of security at a time when violence in Kashmir was on the wane.