Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Police in Indian-administered Kashmir fired at protesters who defied a curfew today, killing 11, as the total death toll from violence over a transfer of land to a Hindu organization in the Muslim-majority state rose to 27.

``Eleven people died during the protests in the valley'' in the winter capital of Jammu, Senior Superintendent of Police Showkat Malik said in a telephone interview. ``Security forces and policemen are guarding the streets and a curfew has been imposed in the entire valley.''

Authorities cracked down on demonstrators a day after more than 50,000 took to the streets in Jammu and Kashmir, the Himalayan state that's claimed by India and Pakistan. India's government accused its nuclear-armed neighbor of interference after Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned what he described as ``excessive and unwarranted use of force.''

``The situation is tense,'' police official Kailash Kumar said. ``The army has been called out and they are patrolling the streets.''

Two protesters were killed and 40 injured in clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Jammu's Kishtwar region, Kumar said in a phone interview.

Relations between Hindus and Muslims have deteriorated after the state government approved in June the transfer of 99 acres (40 hectares) of land to the Hindu Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The land was being used as temporary accommodation for more than 400,000 Hindu pilgrims who trek every year to the site located in a mountain cave.

Scrapped Transfer

The transfer was scrapped last month following protests by Kashmir's Muslim majority. The state's Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned on July 7 after the People's Democratic Party pulled out of the coalition government over the issue.

Four protesters, including a separatist leader, died yesterday when police fired at them to prevent a march to the Kashmiri border with Pakistan. Yesterday's protests were over a blockade of goods mostly by Hindus in Jammu, the winter capital of the state, who are demanding the state governor be fired and the land restored to the shrine board.

The blockade has caused a shortage of medicines, milk and other commodities in the valley, Ghulam Mustafa Bhat, chairman of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers and Dealers Association, said in a telephone interview.

``Fruits are getting rotten as people in Jammu are blocking our trucks,'' he said. ``From children to old men, all are suffering for the past one month.''

Tear Gas Fired

Police fired tear gas yesterday at the Hindu protesters who stoned trucks and drivers, according to Bashir Ahmad Dar, a member of the association.

There is no blockade on the highway linking Srinagar, the summer capital, with Jammu and other parts of the country, Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters in New Delhi. ``There is no reason for an agitation on this issue.''

``We will not leave any stone unturned to resolve the issue,'' Patil said. ``An all party delegation has appealed to all the sections of people in Kashmir to maintain peace and harmony.''

Representatives of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the Samajwadi Party, an ally of the ruling coalition, the Communist Party of India and former state chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Azad met for a second day today.

More than a dozen Islamic separatist groups have been fighting since 1989 for Jammu and Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan. The insurgency has left more than 50,000 people dead. A separatist leader, Sheikh Abdul Aziz, was killed during the protests yesterday, said Police Superintendent Malik, without elaborating.

`Immediate Steps'

Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi called for ``immediate steps to end the violence against innocent Kashmiris,'' according to a statement on the ministry's Web site.

``These statements constitute clear interference in the internal affairs of an integral part of India,'' Navtej Sarna, spokesman at India's Foreign Ministry said in New Delhi today.

India and Pakistan began restoring ties in April 2003 after coming close to fighting a fourth war the previous year. More than a dozen Islamic separatist groups are fighting against Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir, where about 50,000 people have died in the conflict.

``Such statements by leaders of a foreign country do not help the situation,'' Sarna said. ``Nor do they contribute to creating the atmosphere necessary for the dialogue between India and Pakistan to move forward.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 12, 2008 10:31 EDT