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SRINAGAR, India, March 26 (AFP) - A planned visit by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to Kashmir in the coming days has coincided with a sharp rise in violence in the separatism-wracked Himalayan region.

Since Vajpayee announced his visit on March 18, 55 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in violence linked to the long-running separatist insurgency in Kashmir.

The statistics jar with Vajpayee's statement that the current atmosphere in Kashmir is "conducive" for peace, with residents of India's only Muslim-majority state tired of the cycle of killings.

According to Indian officials, at least 35,000 people -- the vast majority of them Muslim militants -- have been killed in Kashmir since the launch of the separatist insurgency in 1989.

Separatist groups say the toll is at least twice that number.

Three pro-Pakistan militant groups -- Hizbul Mujahedin, Jamiat-ul-Mujahedin and the Islamic Front -- responded to the news of Vajpayee's intended visit with fresh vows to pursue their "jihad" (holy war) against Indian rule and to oppose state elections set for September.

Violence in Kashmir had ebbed slightly since Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's landmark January 12 speech during which he had vowed a crackdown against extremist groups, including those active in Kashmir.

India accuses Pakistan of fomenting unrest in Kashmir. Islamabad denies the charge but extends open moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for "self-determination."

The number of killings then showed a marked increase from early March and the trend continued after the announcement of Vajpayee's visit.

Nearly 50 people were injured in two grenade explosions in southern Kashmir on Friday, while two civilians were killed and 20 others -- including nine border guards -- injured in another grenade attack on Saturday.

On Sunday an army officer and three policemen died in two separate ambushes by militants in Kashmir.

Troops have killed 30 militants in the past one week.

Indian security officials said the rise in violence was unconnected to Vajpayee's trip, which is expected to take place before the end of March.

"There are ups and downs in separatist violence, and I don't think it has any link to the prime minister's visit," said senior Border Security Force official Rajinder Bhullar.

"We will continue to pursue the militants wherever they are," Bhullar said.

Vajpayee will be accompanied by Home Minister L.K. Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes.

"The sudden increase in violence by militants has a clear message: 'We are not down and out as is being made-out'," said Tahir Mohiudin, an editor of Kashmir's largest Urdu weekly Chattan.

"It seems they have been provoked by Vajpayee's remark that the atmosphere is conducive for peace," he added.

Mohiudin believes the violence may increase further in the run up to the September polls, given the separatist boycott of the elections.

"They (the militants) want to send a message to the separatist leaders, who may have second thoughts on taking part," he said. 

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