Suspected Kashmiri rebels shot dead a top official of a leading pro-India party, the second killing of a politician in a week, police said on Wednesday.A police spokesman said that Ghulam Mohammed Wani had been shot dead late on Tuesday in northern Baramulla district. Wani was a leading member of KashmirÂ’s PeopleÂ’s Democratic Party (PDP), which governs Kashmir in coalition with the Congress Party. His wife is a party member and a municipal councillor. No rebel group has claimed responsibility for the killing, which came a week after militants shot dead a prominent municipal politician in Srinagar. The killings come ahead of state elections that are due next year. The rebels, who oppose elections held under Indian rule, have often killed pro-India politicians in Kashmir where the separatist insurgency has left at least 42,000 dead since 1989.
