Curfew relaxed in Jammu till evening

Jammu, Aug 16 : Curfew has been relaxed from 5:00 a.m. till 8:00 p.m. today in Jammu amid peaceful protests.

In Srinagar also, indefinite curfew was completely lifted last evening, and the Valley remained by and large peaceful barring stray incidents.

The curfew was clamped in all ten districts of the Valley on Monday following killing of five persons, including Hurriyat leader Shiekh Abdul Aziz, at Boniyar in Baramulla.

The valley was facing shortage of essential commodities for some time as protesters in Jammu had blocked the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, over the issue of land transfer to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

Authorities have denied any "economic blockade" and said trucks guarded by policemen and soldiers were plying on the Kashmir valley route.

The State Government has taken many steps to instill confidence among the truck drivers and the locals in an attempt to restore normalcy.

The dispute began after the State Government had promised to give the forestland to the SASB.

Many Muslims organisations in the Kashmir Valley were enraged, forcing the Government to back out on its decision. This in turn enraged Hindus, and they launched a massive agitation in the Jammu region. The agitation has been on for over six weeks.

ANI