SRINAGAR (India) - SHOPS, businesses and schools were shut down in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Saturday in protest of the Indian prime minister's visit to the disputed Himalayan region.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with pro-Indian political parties ahead of state elections comes amid a wave of unrest that has seen some of the largest protests against Indian rule in two decades. On Friday, police shot dead two demonstrators.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where most people favor independence from mainly Hindu India or a merger with predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

The Jammu-Kashmir Coordination Committee, a coalition of Muslim separatists and local business leaders, called for a strike Saturday in Srinagar, the region's biggest city, to protest Dr Singh's visit.

The city's streets were deserted and government forces erected steel barricades and laid razor wire on the streets in anticipation of protests. Thousands of additional soldiers in riot gear patrolled the city.

'We're taking no chance and are strictly enforcing restrictions to maintain law and order,' said senior police official B. Srinivas.

On Friday, police shot and killed two people as thousands of Muslims protested Dr Singh's arrival. At least 75 others, including 34 security personnel, were injured during the clashes.

At least 45 people have died in the unrest in recent months, most of them killed when Indian soldiers opened fire on Muslim demonstrators.

Speaking to reporters late on Friday, Dr Singh expressed sadness over the deaths and reiterated India's commitment to peacefully solving the Kashmir crisis.

'It has always been our belief that even most difficult issues can be resolved through dialogue,' Dr Singh said. 'I urge that whoever has complaints and grievances should come forward for a dialogue.'

On Saturday, Dr Singh inaugurated Kashmir's first train line, meant to forge stronger ties between the region and the rest of India.

The line links the northern town of Rajwansher to Anantnag, 40 miles (66 kilometres) to the south. It is expected to be extended next year, officials said.

A key separatist leader, Mr Syed Ali Shah Geelani, rejected Dr Singh's calls for dialogue.

'Economic packages or railway lines cannot be alternate to right of self-determination,' he said on Friday. 'We believe dialogue process is futile unless it is for discussing this fundamental right.'

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, which both claim the region and have fought two wars over it.

Militant separatist groups have been fighting since 1989 to end Indian rule. The uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown has killed some 68,000 people, most of them civilians. -- AP