FAR FROM NORMALISING
The Jammu and Kashmir government said that restrictions had been lifted by 35 of the 100 or so police stations across the Kashmir valley, though it wasn't immediately clear what this meant.
It said that most of the telephone exchanges for fixed-line phones will be working by Sunday night. In the Jammu area, which is mainly Hindu, mobile services have been restored in some districts.
Despite the relaxation, the situation is still far from normal in Kashmir.
There is still a lockdown in much of the region, including in some parts of Srinagar and in sensitive major towns, two Reuters witnesses said. There is also no clear indication about when internet and cell phone links will be restored across the region.
Meanwhile, more than 500 political or community leaders and activists remain in detention, some of them having been flown to prisons outside the state.
Some private vehicles were out on major roads in Srinagar on Saturday but the city's old quarter, long a centre for protests, was deserted, witnesses said. Shops, even grocery stores, remained closed in that area.
The landlines have been restored in some wealthier areas of Srinagar, and in a district near the airport.
