former member of Kashmiri separatist groups Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, was appointed chief of al-Qaeda in Pakistan. 2008−present In March 2008, two separate incidents were reported in Indian-administered Kashmir- a blast near the civil secretariat and high court, and a gun battle between security forces and militants which left five dead. The gunfight began when security forces raided a house on the outskirts of the capital city of Srinagar housing militants. The Indian Army has been carrying out cordon-and-search operations against militants in Indian-administered Kashmir since the violence broke out in 1989. Massive demonstrations followed a May 2008 decision of the state government of Jammu and Kashmir to transfer of land to a trust which runs the Hindu Amarnath shrine in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. This land was to be used to build a shelter to house Hindu pilgrims temporarily during their annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath temple. Indian security forces including the army responded quickly to keep order. More than 40 unarmed protesters were killed. The largest protests saw more than a half million people waving Pakistani flags and crying for freedom at a rally on 18 August, according to Time magazine. The situation drew international reactions from separatist leaders and the United Nations. Following the unrest in 2008, secessionist movements got a boost. Such demonstrations have been aloof of the fact that the India government very regularly undertakes activities for upliftment of the Muslim community and donates lands and other properties to the systemized Waqf Boards. Despite the protests, state elections in November–December 2008 in Indian administered Kashmir saw a high voter turnout of more than 60% of the total registered electors. In 2009, protests started over the alleged rape and murder of two young women in Shopian in South Kashmir. The next summer again saw large-scale protests with the immediate trigger being a fake encounter staged by the military in Machil, Kupwara. This 2010 Kashmir unrest saw separatist sentiments, pro-independence slogans, protestors who defied curfews, attacked security forces with stones and burnt police vehicles and government buildings. Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir fired live ammunition on the protesters, resulting in 112 deaths. The protests subsided after the Indian government announced a package of measures aimed at defusing the tensions in September 2010. Revelations made on 24 September 2013 by the former Indian army chief General V. K. Singh claim that the state politicians of Jammu and