September 03, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 2, 1429

SRINAGAR, Sept 2: Authorities in occupied Kashmir lifted on Tuesday a nine-day curfew imposed after a land dispute triggered mass protests against Indian rule in the region.

The lifting of the daytime curfew coincided with the start of the Islamic month of Ramazan and followed the release on Monday of three senior Kashmiri leaders.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Geelani and Yasin Malik had all been arrested last week for organising huge street protests demanding freedom from Indian rule.

Police official Pervez Ahmed told AFP the curfew had been relaxed as a “goodwill gesture” for Ramazan.

Offices, banks and shops opened in the occupied Srinagar for the first time in more than a week, and people thronged markets to buy food, medicines and cooking gas.

The recent protests had reignited the separatist struggle in Kashmir, where a two-decade-old insurgency has claimed more than 43,000 lives.

The demonstrations were triggered by a state government plan — made public in June — to donate land for use by a Hindu trust which oversees an annual Hindu pilgrimage in the valley. Anger among Kashmiri Muslims at the decision soon morphed into all-out protests against Indian rule.

In the face of the unrest, the state government abandoned the land deal, but on Sunday announced a compromise — rejected by Muslim leaders — under which the trust would be granted use of the land, but only for the duration of the pilgrimage.

Since June, at least 39 Muslims and three Hindus have died in clashes between police and protesters in the Kashmir valley and the mainly Hindu area of Jammu.

The curfew had threatened to derail family preparations for Ramazan.

“I swear by Allah, we have nothing left to eat,” said Bilal Dar, 45, a construction worker. “I couldn’t go to work because of the curfew so Ramazan will be just like any other month, even more miserable,” he said, adding he had been forced to borrow from neighbours to feed his family of six.

Housewife Sofia Jabeen said: “Days before the arrival of Ramazan, we used to prepare for the holy month. But now I can’t even find basic things like rice and wheat.”—AFP