Shops and businesses opened in held Kashmir on Sunday for the first time in two weeks after violent protests and curfews that brought the region to a standstill. The held valley has been rocked by unrest since a teenage student was killed by a police tear-gas shell on June 11.
Since then, 49 people have been killed as the security forces regularly opened fire to control angry demonstrations triggered by each civilian death.
Some 32 people - many of them young men or teenagers - have died in the last nine days. Many banks, private schools and shops were open on Sunday in occupied Srinagar, despite the day being an official holiday.
Kashmiris flooded into the streets to stock up on supplies after Kashmiri leaders opposed to Indian rule called for a day-long halt to protests. More rallies and fresh strikes are expected on Monday. "We had nothing left to eat, not even food for my babies," Shameema Javed, 39, a housewife, told AFP, as she queued up outside a shop in occupied Srinagar, where the curfew restrictions were lifted for the day.
Both moderate and hard-line leaders in held Kashmir have rejected an offer of talks after Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the government was ready to meet with groups opposed to Indian rule in held Kashmir.
The past two months have seen some of the largest anti-India demonstrations since 2008. Chidambaram said in parliament on Friday that Pakistan now allegedly appeared to be behind the wave of civilian unrest, although locals say protests are spontaneous.
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