SRINAGAR, July 12, 2010 (AFP) - Shops, schools and offices were shut for a second day in Indian Kashmir on Monday as politicians met to discuss how to end weeks of violent and deadly street protests against security forces.
Indian troops have been struggling to control a wave of demonstrations in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley after being accused of killing 15 civilians -- many of them teenagers -- since the first death of 17-year old on June 11.
Authorities lifted a rigid curfew on Sunday across Kashmir after an uneasy calm returned to the major towns, but all activity ground to a halt after separatists called a strike.
In the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, chief minister Omar Abdullah convened a meeting of pro-India local politicians to find a way out of the cycle of protests and disruption.
"The all-parties meeting is underway to discuss the current situation and find ways to end the unrest," an official spokesman in Abdullah's office said.
New Delhi has blamed separatists and militant groups for instigating the protests, which are seen by most people locally as a spontaneous reaction to perceived abuses by security forces, economic stagnation and political deadlock.
Newspapers in Kashmir were again on stands for the first time in four days. Passes for journalists enabling them to travel despite curfew restrictions were cancelled by the authorities