India to remove some bunkers, release protesters in Kashmir - AFP

SRINAGAR, India — India on Wednesday said it would release protesters held in Kashmir and remove some security bunkers in an effort to ease tensions in the region racked by deadly anti-India protests.

The announcement in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, was made after a gruelling meeting of top officials from the state, the Indian army, paramilitary forces and the intelligence agencies.

The meeting, chaired by Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, was planned by Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram last week to try to calm deadly protests that have left some 107 protesters and bystanders dead since early June.

The almost daily clashes between stone-throwing protesters and security forces are testing India's hold over the region.

"The youths arrested for stone pelting will be released and handed over to their parents," state home secretary B.R. Sharma told reporters.

He said it was also decided that 16 bunkers would be removed from Srinagar.

The home minister, who did not attend the meeting, said last week that the top officials would consider reducing the security presence in the heavily militarised Kashmir valley, the hub of separatist sentiment.

In particular, Chidambaram said, officials would look at reducing the large number of security checkpoints that are deeply resented by locals.

He had said authorities would review the many areas of Kashmir listed as "disturbed", a category that allows application of the detested Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) giving security forces wide powers to open fire, detain suspects and confiscate property.

The announcement marked the first major initiative by the government to end the protests that have given a new lease of life to anti-India separatists.

Ahead of the meeting, Abdullah said his efforts to reduce the number of federal troops in the region and soften tough laws were setback by the protests.

"The law and order situation created by certain elements in the (Kashmir) valley during the last over three months has given considerable setback to my endeavours in this regard," he said, but vowed to "continue to work in this direction despite all odds."

Sharma said the state officials would hold a meeting on October 6 to review the cases of all the separatists booked under a tough security law.

He said the two committees comprising senior civil, army and police officers, were also constituted to identify places where the AFSPA needed to be repealed or amended.

Chidambaram had also extended India's offer to hold talks with Kashmiris. The offer has been rejected by both hardline and moderate separatists.

The proposals were part of an eight-point plan put forward by the home minister after he led an all-party mission to Kashmir early last week.

Muslim separatists have fought a 20-year insurgency against New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir.