SRINAGAR, India (AFP) — Indian troops patrolled Kashmir's streets Saturday one day after police shot dead two protesters during demonstrations against a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Police fired bullets and teargas on Friday to beat back thousands of residents protesting premier Singh's two-day visit to the revolt-hit Muslim majority region.
Officials said two people were killed and 75 others including 34 troopers were hurt in the clashes in the India Kashmir summer capital of Srinagar, where Singh later held talks with local political leaders.
"Both (protesters) were killed when security forces opened fire after tear gas shelling and baton charges proved ineffective to disperse stone-pelting mobs," said a police officer on condition of anonymity.
Authorities Saturday deployed thousands of police and federal paramilitary soldiers amid tensions as the prime minister prepared to flag off the first train in the Kashmir valley.
Shops, schools and offices were closed in Srinagar in line with a strike call from a separatist committee that has spearheaded a resurgence of mass protests against Indian rule in the Kashmir Valley.
The recent protests were triggered by a row over a government donation of Kashmiri land to a Hindu pilgrimage trust and spiralled into anti-India demonstrations that left more than 45 Muslim protesters dead.
Singh late Friday met with local politicians and said New Delhi was open to talks with separatists opposed to India's rule.
Singh also said New Delhi was keen to normalise ties with Pakistan, which has fought two of its three wars with India over Kashmir since their independence in 1947. The nations administer parts of Kashmir but both claim the region in full.
"We want to normalise ties with Pakistan and work together to address all outstanding issues in an atmosphere free of violence," Singh said.
"Good relations with Pakistan, our very important neigbour to the north, are an essential part of our policy," Singh said.
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