The prime minister said the militant outfits were reviving their over-ground activities and attempts were being made to 'link isolated and unconnected incidents - such as Shopian - to create an impression of a groundswell of anti-national feeling'.

'All this shows that efforts to disturb the current status quo have not been given up,' he said.

Agitational politics has seen a rise in the Kashmir valley in the past few months triggering a new spate of shutdowns and protest demonstrations. It all started with the May 29 rape and murder of two women in south Kashmir Shopian that triggered valley-wide protests bringing the state on a standstill for almost three weeks in June this year.

Separatist groups and some mainstream political parties have alleged that security forces are behind the crime, which Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has admitted was initially 'badly' handled by the state administration.