"al-Qaeda has no presence in Kashmir," Syed Sadaqat Hussein, the spokesman for the region's sole militant alliance, United Jihad Council, said in a statement to the local Current News Service news agency.

Hussein described the claim as "deceptive."

"There is no need or importance of al-Qaeda in Kashmir," Hussain said, adding that Kashmiri militants were "successfully continuing insurgency against Indian rule over the past 18 years."

Indian TV channels and local news agencies in Kashmir received the video CDs Friday showing a masked man claiming to be from al-Qaeda and announcing the launch of its Indian wing.

Wearing combat clothing and brandishing an AK-47 rifle, the man declared the launch of "Jihad across India."

Hussein accused the Indian authorities of engineering the video claim with "an aim to hurt the indigenous character" of the movement.

In New Delhi, India's home ministry said "necessary inquiries" were being made and urged people to remain calm.

"A close watch is being maintained by the state and central government agencies and action is being taken on a continuous basis to foil such designs. There is no need for any panic," it said.