Curfew eased in parts of Kashmir

Published February 13, 2013

Mother of Kashmiri youth Amir Ashraf who was detained by Indian police weeps outside his home in Srinagar on February 13, 2013. Government forces detained dozens of youth and political activists to prevent anti-India protests over the hanging of Mohammad Afzal Guru on February 9, 2013 in the high security Tihar jail in New Delhi. Strict restrictions were in force in the more densely populated old town areas of Srinagar on the fifth day after Guru was hanged. — AFP Photo

SRINAGAR: Authorities relaxed a curfew in parts of Indian-administered Kashmir on Wednesday, letting people buy rations for the first time in days after protests over the secret execution of Mohammad Afzal Guru, convicted in a deadly 2001 attack on India's Parliament.   

In some towns, residents were allowed out of their homes for two hours to buy food and other supplies. Most of the region's nearly 60 newspapers published Wednesday after remaining shut for three days. But cable television and mobile internet services were shut down in most areas for the fifth straight day, and police and paramilitary soldiers in riot gear continued to patrol the streets.

The restrictions were relaxed after tensions eased in several districts across Indian-administered Kashmir and some neighborhoods in Srinagar, the region's main city, said Manoj Panditha, a police spokesman. Further decisions on lifting the curfew will be made after authorities review the situation, he said.

Despite a rigid curfew, Kashmir was rocked by anti-India protests after Mohammed Afzal Guru, a native of Indian-administered Kashmir, was hanged in New Delhi early Saturday. Three protesters were killed and at least 30 others wounded in clashes with government forces. Officials said at least 45 police and paramilitary soldiers were also injured.

Separatist politicians called for a mass funeral prayer for Guru to be held Friday at a large square near Srinagar's Martyr's Graveyard, where hundreds of separatists and civilians killed in Kashmir's conflict with India are buried.

The protests have stirred fears that the region could be descending into a new round of violence after two years of relative calm. Many Kashmiris believe Guru did not get a fair trial, and his surprise execution only exacerbated the anger here. Guru confessed in TV interviews that he helped plot the attack on India's Parliament in 2001 that killed 14 people, including the five gunmen, but later denied any involvement and said he had been tortured into confessing.

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