Jammu, Feb. 1 (Reuters): The Jammu and Kashmir government has freed 34 prisoners and announced new incentives to woo militants to give up the gun aimed at boosting moves to bring peace to the troubled region.

The announcement came ahead of Bakr Id and followed last month’s breakthrough talks between New Delhi and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

The prisoners were released from jails and detention centres across the region over the last week to allow them to join their families for the festival, said a senior official.

“The entire process was carried out away from media glare as we don’t want them to be made heroes,” said the official.

The released prisoners included sympathisers of militant groups and rebels accused of minor crimes, he said.

Under the new package to rehabilitate militants, the government would deposit Rs 150,000 in bank accounts for militants who surrender, allowing them to use the cash only after three years of “normal life and good behaviour”.

They would also get a monthly allowance of Rs 2,000, training for new careers and cheap loans to start businesses, said S.S. Bloeria, Jammu and Kashmir’s top bureaucrat.

“This aims at providing an opportunity for the return of those militants who have undergone a change of heart in the changing atmosphere for peace in the state and want to shun the path of violence to join the mainstream,” Bloeria said.

Officials said the new package was more attractive than earlier measures as militants for the first time had been offered a large cash incentive and employment opportunities.

They said about 2,000 militants had surrendered so far under rehabilitation programmes launched since 1995.

The latest steps follow the January 22 talks between deputy Prime Minister .K. Advani and the Hurriyat aimed at ending militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

The release of prisoners was a long-standing demand of the Hurriyat.

The new moves come two weeks ahead of talks between Indian and Pakistani officials, the first in nearly three years, to tackle a wide range of disputes between the nuclear-armed neighbours, including the Kashmir dispute.