Kashmiri separatist leaders Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani were arrested in Srinagar on Wednesday for attempting to defy curfew orders and breaking their house detention.
Both Mirwaiz and Geelani were, however, later released and placed back in house detention at their respective residences, as reported by IANS.
The death toll in the valley, meanwhile, rose to 35 after a victim succumbed to his injuries in the morning.
Javid Ahmad of Anantnag died in a hospital after undergoing two days of treatment. "He had bullet injuries and was very critical since two days,'' the Indian Express quoted Medical Superintendent, SKIMS, Dr Farooq Jan, as saying.
The state could see an extended spell of trouble after separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yaseen Malik upped the ante by asking protesters to extend their strike by two more days in the Kashmir Valley and gather in large numbers after Friday prayers, reports ANI.
Wednesday accentuated the unrest in the state ever since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in an encounter last Friday; it was on this day in 1931 that about 20 Kashmiris were killed in police firing, triggering people to revolt in large numbers. The agitation was against the then Dogra rulers of the state and the day is observed as "martyrs' day" in Jammu & Kashmir.
Meanwhile, in a series of tweets, former J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has cited PM Narendra Modi's gesture to victims of fire accident in a Kerala temple to say that the PM needs to come out with a similar response in J&K. Abdullah also slammed the state government for failing to restore calm and help the victims.
Hon @narendramodi ji. After Kerala fire you carried a plane load of burn specialists with you. Please send eye/trauma specialists to Kashmir
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 13, 2016
Shameless Govt should have been focused on restoring calm & on helping our doctors who are struggling to treat 1200+ injured people.
— Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) July 13, 2016
After Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the country's foreign office making statements on Burhan Wani's killing and the subsequent deaths in violent clashes, Pakistan's army chief has commented on the slain militant.
Pakistani publication Dawn reported that General Raheel Sharif "condemned" the killing of Wani during the monthly Corps Commander Conference at the General Headquarters.
