Indian Kashmir Begins First Village Elections In Two Decades
SRINAGAR (News Agencies) - The restive Indian state of Kashmir held its first village polls in 23 years Monday, despite threats of violence from some Kashmiri groups.
Residents in three Kashmiri districts - Kupwara, Rajouri and Poonch - trickled to voting booths in the first stage of state-wide polling that will take a month to complete.
Altogether, 1,667 candidates in the three districts were standing for posts in 125 village councils, or "panchayats."
"Elaborate arrangements for the polling, including security for the peaceful conduct of the polls have been made," an official spokesman said in the Kashmir summer capital, Srinagar.
The voters had to face freezing temperatures as well as calls from some Kashmiri groups opposed to Indian rule for a boycott of the elections.
Kashmir's dominant group, the Hizbul-Mujahideen, said the polls were a "conspiracy" to undermine the Kashmiri self-determination movement.
"Taking part in any polls under the Indian dispensation is bound to cause harm to the on-going movement," a Hizbul statement said.
The polls are being held just a day after Hizbul members fired two grenades at Indian Kashmir's Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah.
Kashmiri groups, including the Hizbul, have rejected a continuing unilateral ceasefire by Indian troops in Kashmir.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of fomenting insurgency in the Indian-administered zone of Kashmir, in a conflict that has claimed more than 34,000 lives since 1989.
Pakistan denies the charge but extends moral and diplomatic support to what it terms the legitimate Kashmiri struggle for self-rule.
Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is claimed by both and divided between them.
A bilateral dialogue to solve the dispute has been frozen for more than a year.
