INDIA’S government revoked special status for Indian-administered Kashmir today in an unprecedented move condemned as “a dangerous game” by neighbouring Pakistan.

Tens of thousands of Indian troops were deployed to the region ahead of today’s announcement and tourists were told to leave under warnings of a terror threat with clashes expected.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government voted to revoke Article 370 which gave the Muslim-majority state of Kashmir autonomy from the Indian constitution.

It claimed the move would significantly boost the economy of Jammu and Kashmir and encourage investment in the poverty-stricken state.

But critics have accused Mr Modi of an attempt to change the demographics of the population by scrapping rules that give permanent residents the exclusive right to own property in the state.

It is feared that Mr Modi plans to encourage Hindus to move into Kashmir to drive the Muslim population out.

India moved to place two of Kashmir’s former chief ministers — Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti — under house arrest in the hours before the announcement.

Ms Mufti described the decision to revoke Kashmir’s special status as “a sinister one” but said she hoped “all the stakeholders, all the political parties, religious parties and other parties would fight together.”

Speaking to the BBC she said: “This constitutional relationship has been turned into an illegal occupation. So that is what we are going to be fighting about now.” 

Article 370 was negotiated and agreed in 1949 after the partition of India two years before. It gave Jammu and Kashmir the right to have its own constitution, a separate flag and independence over all matters except foreign affairs, defence and communications.

But the region has been the cause of a number of wars between Indian and Pakistan in the past six decades and remains one of the most militarised areas in the world.

Mr Modi ran his recent election campaign using anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan rhetoric. His BJP won a landslide victory and have followed through on a promise to revoke Article 370.

Pakistan warned that the removal of the special status of Kashmir was illegal and said it would challenge it using “all possible options.”

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said: “India is playing a dangerous game which will have serious consequences for regional peace and stability.”