SRINAGAR, Nov 2: A total of 55 detainees will be released from prisons in held Kashmir before Eid-ul-Fitr, the region's leader Mufti Mohammed Sayeed said on Tuesday.

"All of them will be released before Eid so that they are able to celebrate the festival with their families," he said on the sidelines of a meeting organized to mark his two years in office.

Several thousand Muslims, most of them rebels or separatists, are being held in jails inside and outside the state.

On taking office, Mufti promised a healing touch to Kashmir by ending human rights violations, reforming the security forces and striving for dialogue between New Delhi and separatists. But separatists say there has been no change. -AFP