NEW DELHI, August 5

The Indian government on Monday rushed through a presidential decree to scrap a special status for disputed Kashmir, hours after imposing a major security clampdown in the region.

Home Minister Amit Shah told parliament that the president had signed a decree abolishing Article 370 of the constitution giving special autonomy to the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

The decree said the measure came into force "at once". Kashmir has been divided between Indian and Pakistan since their independence in 1947.

The Indian-administered part of the territory has been in the grip of an insurgency for three decades that has left tens of thousands dead.