Srinagar: Curfew was lifted temporarily in parts of Srinagar for Friday prayers at local mosques.

After Chief Minister Omar Abdullah held a high-level meeting, it was decided that curfew will also be relaxed in some parts of the city so that devotees can offer special prayers overnight at the Hazratbal shrine for Shab-e-Meraj, an important occasion on the religious calendar here.

Traditionally, lakhs of people visit the shrine for Shab-e-Meraj.

Religious cleric Mufti Azam had appealed to the Jammu and Kashmir government to relax the curfew; he also appealed to people to perform religious duties peacefully.
 
Meanwhile, all curfew passes have been restored to members of local media.
 
Srinagar is under curfew for the fourth day and the Army is on the periphery of the city to function, in the words of the government, "as a deterrent". A series of civilian deaths in the last few weeks, all during clashes between protesters and security forces, led to a new cycle of violence in the city, prompting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to request that the Army be sent to Srinagar. Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that he hopes the Army will "not have to stay very long".

Tags: J&K Chief Minister, Mufti Azam, Omar Abdullah, Shab-e-Azam

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