The Jammu and Kashmir [Images] government has rejected claims made by J&K National Panther's party chief Bhim Singh that the tourism in state has been hit badly due to the news report that Al Qaeda [Images] has made India a target for jihad in the next round of their terror campaign.

In a letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images], Bhim Singh had asked the Prime Minister's Office to screen all such claims by terrorist networks before allowing them to be telecast by news channels and the print media.

"I do not know what made him to write that letter, but the contents are purely sensational in nature," a senior government official of state administration told rediff.com on Monday.

Yusuf Tarigami, one of the two Communist Party of India-Marxist legislators in the Valley and alliance partner in the J&K government said there was no truth in the claims by the Panthers party chief.

"The people of Jammu and Kashmir do not believe in the contents of the CD that has been released in the name of Al Qaeda," Tarigami told rediff.com on phone from Srinagar [Images].

He claimed that on the contrary, tourism in the state has been on the upswing in last few weeks.

"Some people write letters to the prime minister to sensationalise the issue. I am sure that the state administration would gear itself up to ensure a peaceful Amarnath Yatra next week," he said.