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MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistani- controlled Kashmir, Thursday (AFP) A 15-party alliance of Kashmiri guerrilla groups accused India of using "chemical weapons" against militants in the disputed state of Kashmir and called on the UN to take urgent notice of the situation.

"India is using chemical weapons against the mujahedin (holy warriors) in sheer violation of all those international laws and principles whose implementation has been declared obligatory by the United Nations," the United Jihad Council said in a statement. The statement was issued after a meeting of the alliance in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistani zone of Kashmir, under its chairman Syed Salahuddin.

Expressing "serious concern and shock" over the killing of more than a dozen militants in Poonch district in the Indian-administered zone of Kashmir on Tuesday, the Council said it had received reports from militant groups that "Indian troops used lethal poisonous gases to kill the mujahedin."

This was apparently the first time that Kashmiri guerrillas alleged use of poisonous gas by Indian forces in the 14-year old insurgency that has claimed up to 38,000 lives. There was no immediate confirmation of the accusation.

"India will have to face serious repercussions for using such inhuman tactics in a bid to crush the freedom struggle," the council warned. "We call upon the United Nations and the international community to take immediate notice of the alarming situation in occupied Kashmir and initiate steps to rein in India."

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