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Srinagar: Authorities plan to relax a strict curfew that has kept the streets of Indian Kashmir's biggest city largely deserted for days, officials said on Wednesday.
The curfew will be lifted in phases for one to two hours at a time around Srinagar, the biggest city in the Himalayan region, to allow people to buy food, medicine and other necessities, said Masud Samoon, a senior Kashmiri official.
But he said authorities will not allow protests, and Indian troops will continue to patrol the streets in full force. The curfew had been in place since Sunday.
Separatist leaders have vowed to press on with what they say are peaceful protests demanding an end to Indian rule in the Himalayan region, although they have not announced plans for any new demonstrations.
"India has no reason to clamp down on peaceful protests," Masarat Aalam, a prominent separatist leader, said Tuesday.
Police have arrested at least five key separatist leaders in an attempt to quash the unrest.
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