NEW DELHI, Aug 12: Twelve Kashmiri protesters were shot to death in different parts of the Valley on Tuesday, at least four of them at a funeral for the slain Hurriyat leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz. He was killed on Monday in an army assault on a rally that was headed for the LoC on its way to Muzaffarabad.

Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said there was no news of the whereabouts of Shabbir Shah, another senior resistance leader who was leading Monday’s protests when he was last seen.

Authorities have clamped curfew in all the 10 districts in the Valley for the first time in 13 years. JKLF leader Yasin Malik escaped from his hospital bed in Srinagar to join the funeral prayers for Mr Aziz at Bandipora. Four people were killed when security forces fired on protesters at Bandipora. They had gathered outside the Jamia Masjid where the funeral of Mr Aziz was taking place.

Jammu and Kashmir’s former chief minister Farooq Abdullah described the situation caused by Hindu extremists in Jammu as grave. Muslims in the Valley started the standoff first by rejecting the government’s handing over land to a Hindu temple trust.

In New Delhi, a worried Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for another all-party meeting on Wednesday to find an acceptable formula that could please both Jammu and the Kashmir Valley. Party leaders, who had met last week, met again on Tuesday to discuss the issue but to no avail.

Meanwhile, an all-party peace panel on Amarnath issue headed by Home Minister Shivraj Patil has decided to call political parties from the Valley. Reports said the Hindu extremist-led Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti could also be invited to the talks. It was not clear if the Hurriyat Conference would be called.

On Tuesday though, there was no respite in the violence in the Valley. Two more protesters were killed in firing in Lasjan area of Srinagar.

Reports said in Rainawari and Srinagar there has been at least one casualty. In Ashkoora, Baramulla and Nagabal another two people were killed.

People defied a curfew clamped on the entire Kashmir Valley after the violence on Monday in Sopore during an attempt by protesters to march to Muzaffarabad. Five people, including Mr Aziz, were killed in police firing.

On his part, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq has appealed for peace in Kashmir. He said it should be a peaceful agitation and nobody should damage public property.

The Mirwaiz also appealed to the people not to hurt any community. The Hurriyat Conference has called for a three-day strike in Kashmir from Tuesday. Mirwaiz was leading the funeral procession of Sheikh Aziz.

Terming the situation in Jammu and Kashmir “grave”, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah said any division of the state on the Amarnath issue would be dangerous for the country. “I think there has been a regional divide for a long time. People have been raising their voices to separate. There are people who want the state to be separated...the recent unfortunate happenings on the issue of Amarnath shrine board has triggered out of basic problem,” he said.