Eight bombs exploded today in the stronghold of Moslem militants seeking independence for the Himalayan valley of Kashmir, authorities said. No one was injured. Authorities said the blasts, at two banks, a post office and other shops and businesses, occurred hours after fire swept through a shopping complex in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state. No one claimed responsibilty for the explosions. Police said they believe the blaze was an accident since it occurred before dawn while a curfew was still in force. But other officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, blamed the fire and the bombs on the Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front, the militant group leading the four-decade-old drive for the country's only Moslem majority state to secede from predominantly Hindu India. India routinely blames neighoring Pakistan of arming, training and supporting the militants. Pakistan denies the charge but says the Kashmiri people have a right to self-determination. At least 82 people have been killed since Jan. 20 in frequent street clashes between militants and security forces in Srinagar and adjoining areas. Most of the victims have been protesters shot while defying curfew imposed by government forces to stem rising violence. The curfew was relaxed during the day from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., except in the areas where the explosions occurred. Kashmir, once a princely state, was divided between India and Pakistan after the two countries were partitioned following the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Srinagar and the surrounding areas of the valley became part of Jammu-Kashmir. Sixty-four percent of the state's 5 million people are Moslems, but Moslems make up 12 percent of the 880 million population nationwide. Kashmiri militants had earlier campaigned for union with Pakistan, which claims Kashmir because of its predominant Moslem population, but the militants now demand independence and the status of a neutral country. India has fought two wars with Pakistan over Kashmir.
