One killed in Army firing in Jammu

Jammu/Srinagar, August 6 : At least one person has been killed and two others injured in the firing by the Army to disperse the stone-pelting angry mob on Jammu-Pathankot national highway in curfew-bound Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, according to a defence spokesperson.

The violent protests in the Kashmir Valley over the Amarnath land row were flared up when protesters defied curfew and took to the streets today. There were reports of clashes between pro-Amarnath demonstrators and CRPF men in some areas of Srinagar.Meanwhile, the Kashmir Traders Federation (KTF) has said that it will snap all business ties with traders in Jammu region and instead buy products directly from other cities like Amritsar and Delhi.

According to media reports, Chairman of the Traders Federation Jan Mohammad Koul said that they have decided to boycott Jammu traders.

"We are not going to buy any goods from them," Koul added.

In another development, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is meeting top leaders of political parties here this evening to discuss measures to calm the situation in the state and seek a consensus on how to end the impasse. Leaders of national and regional political parties, including the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Conference, have been invited for the meeting.

The meeting is likely to be attended by top leaders of all political parties, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Rajnath Singh and Left leaders.

On Monday, the Centre had rushed Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh to Jammu to carry out an assessment of the situation. They interacted with the state government and army officials.

ANI