Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chief of Hurriyat Conference on Monday asked the Union government to hold trilateral talks with Pakistan and Kashmiri leaders to resolve the 60-year-old dispute.

Addressing a mammoth rally in Srinagar, Mirwaiz also asked India to immediately open trade routes with Pakistan through the Line of Control (LoC) - the de-facto border between India and Pakistan.

Hundreds of security personnel were deployed in Srinagar as leaders of the separatist Hurriyat Conference started marching to the UN office.

Former militant and senior Hurriyat leader Javed Ahmed Mir was the first to reach the UN office and present a memorandum seeking independence of Kashmir from India and revocation of "draconian laws giving special powers to armed forces in Kashmir."

Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani said that "Our memorandum seeks UN intervention for the permanent resolution of Kashmir issue in the wake of the economic blockade imposed on the valley."

"We have made elaborate security arrangements to disallow large gathering around the United Nations Military Observes' Group (UNMOG) in Srinagar," said a police official.

Sources told IANS that the authorities were in two minds till late on Sunday on whether to impose a curfew to bar Hurriyat supporters from gathering at a place that is dotted by "very sensitive offices and installations which could become the targets of miscreants if the rally was allowed".

However, the government later decided to allow the Hurriyat leaders to present memorandums from each constituent group of the separatist conglomerate, while requesting them to keep the crowds small, worried that a large group could lead to fresh clashes with security forces.

A large number of police and paramilitary troopers were in place in the uptown areas of Srinagar behind barricades and razor-fitted concertina wires to prevent crowds from going beyond the Tourist Reception Centre, about 200 metres from the UN office.

All the entry points to the UN office were blocked and manned by hundreds of security forces.

The strong presence of security forces led to fears that trouble may be in the offing if Hurriyat supporters gather in large numbers.

But, according to sources, the government has instructed security personnel to use maximum restraint and minimise use of force in case the gathering turns rowdy.

The authorities have also instructed the police not to use bullets to disperse crowds.

Courting arrest

Intensifying their struggle for restoration of nearly 100 acres of land to Amarnath shrine board, thousands of protestors on Monday courted arrest after holding demonstrations in front of police stations in the Jammu region.

The protestors raised slogans of "bam bam bholay" and marched to police stations as a three-day 'jail bharo andolan' called by the Shri Amarnath Sangarsh Samiti (SASS) got underway.

Police took them to schools and stadiums in vehicles. Reports from Udhampur said that police resorted to lathicharge and burst teargas shells to disperse the protestors.

Reports of agitators courting arrest also poured in from Kathua, Samba and R S Pura.

“Over one lakh people demanding transfer of nearly 100 acres of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) and recall of Governor N N Vohra are likely to court arrest during the three-day jail bharo andolan,” said SASS spokesman Narinder Singh.

Meanwhile, police said curfew was relaxed today from 5 am to 8 pm in Kishtwar, Jammu and Udhampur districts.

"In Kishtwar, which witnessed violence last week, there was no untoward incident and curfew has been relaxed for the day. However, tension is still high," Deputy Commissioner Sudershan Kumar Sharma said.