SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Police in Indian Kashmir seized newspapers carrying Pope Benedict XVI's strong criticisms of Islam and jihad, fearing a Muslim backlash in the flashpoint area.
"We've seized copies of (Indian) newspapers carrying the pope's remarks. It has been done to prevent any tension here," a police officer said.
Copies of the Indian dailies were impounded at Srinagar's high-security airport when they arrived from New Delhi, he said on Thursday.
The pontiff hit out at Islam and the concept of holy war or jihad in a speech in Germany on Tuesday, citing a 14th-century Christian emperor who said the Prophet Mohammed had brought the world "evil and inhuman" things.
The Muslim league, a Kashmiri separatist group, called for a protest Friday over the pope's comments.
"Whatever has been said against our Prophet is unbearable," the group's chief Masarat Alam said. "It should be condemned by all."
Kashmir witnessed a wave of protests after a newspaper in Denmark published cartoons of Mohammed in September 2005 that were also reproduced elsewhere, mainly in Europe, triggering widespread demonstrations around the world.
Indian Kashmir is in the grip of a Muslim insurgency against New Delhi's rule that has left more than 44,000 people dead since 1989.