Kashmir shuts down to protest visit by Indian premier

Srinagar: Shops, businesses and schools were shut in Indian Kashmir on Saturday to protest a visit by the Indian prime minister to the disputed Himalayan region.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in the region to inaugurate its first train line and meet with pro-Indian political parties.

His visit comes amid a wave of unrest that included some of the largest protests against Indian rule in two decades.

On Friday, police fatally shot two people as thousands of Muslims protested Singh's arrival. At least 75 others were injured in the clashes.

The Jammu-Kashmir Coordination Committee, a coalition of Muslim separatists and local business leaders, called for a strike to protest Singh's visit.

The city's streets were deserted and government forces erected steel barricades and laid razor wire on the streets in anticipation of protests.

Thousands of additional soldiers in riot gear patrolled the city.