India deployed thousands of security forces and imposed an indefinite curfew on Kashmir’s summer capital on Sunday as a survey shows about two thirds in the Muslim region want “complete independence”.
Muslims renewed its demands for independence in protests against New Delhi’s rule in last day of Eid Al Fitr on Saturday.
The biggest pro-freedom demonstrations in two years in Kashmir were triggered by the killing of a 17-year-old student by police in June.
Seventy protesters and bystanders – some children – have been killed, mostly by security forces who have fired on demonstrations.
Troops equipped with assault rifles patrolled deserted streets and blocked off lanes with razor wire and iron barricades in Srinagar, where tens of thousands of people have been killed in two decades of conflict.
The curfew extended to other big towns in the Kashmir valley.
After Eid prayers to mark the end of the Ramadan fasting month, tens of thousands marched through Srinagar on Saturday.
Killings of civilians have fuelled anger across Kashmir, where sentiment against New Delhi’s rule runs deep. Human rights groups say India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives security forces wide powers to shoot, arrest and search in the region.
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