SRINAGAR, India, May 26 (AFP) - Indian air strikes Wednesday against Moslem separatists in Kashmir fuelled fears of another war with Pakistan, with people in the Himalayan state going on a buying spree of food and other essentials. As news of the air strikes spread in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, residents poured out of their homes to stock up on goods. Indian air force planes and military helicopters at dawn strafed Pakistan-backed Moslem militants holed up in hills along the India-Pakistan border in a bid to flush them out. Many residents here said they expected Pakistan to retaliate. "If the Indians misfire and hit Pakistani troops, they will retaliate and we Kashmiris know the consequences," said Bashmir Ahmed, a teacher. A resident of Kargil town told AFP by telephone that the bombers went into attack early Wednesday into the surrounding hills. "Now I will have to leave the town as there will be fierce retaliation by Pakistani troops," he said. Thousands of people have already fled from the region over the past fortnight to escape border clashes. Javer Mir, a Moslem separatist leader, said the air strikes could escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, which dispute Kashmir's ownership and have fought three wars since their independence in 1947. He urged the international community to intervene to prevent a possible showdown between the two South Asian nuclear neighbours. "It is a good thing," added another Moslem resident, Javed Ahmed. "I pray to Allah that this should lead to full-fledged war so that Kashmir's future status is resolved for ever." The main airport in Srinagar was closed for civilian traffic as military jets and helicopters hovered over the town. All the civilian staff, who used to live near the airport, have been told to leave. Security in the region was beefed up in and around the headquarters of Indian army in Srinagar and soldiers were seen frisking all visitors and checking all vehicles around the area. Helicopters made several sorties and were ferrying the injured soldiers into Srinagar. "It reminds me of the 1965 war with Pakistan," said Ghulam Mohiudin, a 70-year-old resident. "The situation was similar, helicopters and jets flew over Srinagar even then." India and Pakistan fought their first war in 1947-48 and the second in 1965, both over Kashmir. The third war in 1971 led to the eastern wing of Pakistan breaking away and becoming Bangladesh. Mustaq Rather, a Moslem scholar, said the Indian air strikes proved that the Kashmir situation "is not at all normal. The government is contradicting their own claim that normalcy has come back to Kashmir." Indian government has said that it had successfully contained militancy in the troubled region where more than 24,000 people have died since the start of a separatist campaign in 1989. Shabir Shah, a separatist leader condemned the air strikes saying it was a violation of a peace pact signed between the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers in February in the Pakistani city of Lahore. "India has itself violated the Lahore declaration .... we have been told there are several civilian casualties also," Shah said.  