The Indian government has ordered authorities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to ban the slaughter of all animals in the Muslim majority region on the eve of   Eid al-Adha.

Citing animal welfare laws, the government's Animal Welfare Board of India ordered police and authorities to take all preventive measures to halt the illegal killing of animals and to take stringent action against offenders.

The new order extends the ban to all animals for the first time.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema, a coalition of Muslim religious bodies in Kashmir, expressed strong resentment at the government move.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema urged the government to revoke the arbitrary order that is unacceptable to Muslims of the state as they directly infringe upon their religious freedom and their personal law.