NEW DELHI, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government will invite separatists in India-controlled Kashmir for peace talks for the first time in three years, reported local newspaper Hindustan Times on Saturday.

    The report quoted unidentified sources as saying that once an agreement is reached with the separatists, the government would allow former militants to return to the mainstream life and let those who went to the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to return home, while families of those blacklisted as a security threat could also travel abroad again.

    Those measures are likely to be laid down over the coming months by Home Minister P. Chidambaram, said the report.

    India-controlled Kashmir has been witnessing widespread street protests and shutdowns by local Muslim population this year over alleged human rights violations by Indian police and paramilitary troops.

    The death of two young women at the end of May, who were suspected to have been raped and killed by police, triggered worst confrontation between protesters and Indian police and paramilitary troops, resulting in the death of a number of protesters.

    Meanwhile, the region also has been troubled by fighting between Indian troops and Muslim militants, some of whom reportedly infiltrating from across the Line-of-Control with Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

    A boycott call by separatists during the Indian general elections held this year was also partly observed in the Muslim areas.