Indien / Pakistan

The elections delivered a resounding victory to India’s main opposition party, Congress, and its regional partner, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), which had come together in an alliance to defeat Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), which also rules at the national level. 

Voters queued outside polling stations in India's Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday to vote in the first provincial election being held in a decade in the Himalayan region that has grappled with years of militant violence. The nine million registered voters are choosing members for the region's 90-seat legislature in the three-phase election. Votes will be counted on Oct. 8 and results expected the same day.

Residents of Indian-controlled Kashmir are gearing up for their first regional election in a decade that will allow them to have their own truncated government, also known as a local assembly, instead of remaining under New Delhi's direct rule.

With assembly elections approaching, a string of militant attacks in the Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir has residents on edge.

Monday’s judgement by India’s Supreme Court upholding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s move four years ago to scrap the limited autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir state is expected to set back the prospect of any thaw in ties between India and Pakistan.

India must immediately halt its crackdown on Kashmiri activists, the independent UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, said on Friday, calling for greater accountability. 

Residents in Indian-administered Kashmir experienced more internet shutdowns and restrictions than any other region in 2022, including Iran and Russia, a new report found.

Ten people have died in explosions and shootings that occurred in recent days in Indian-controlled Kashmir, local officials said. … Last year, more than 170 suspected rebels and 26 Indian security forces were killed in Kashmir. New Delhi blames neighboring Pakistan for supporting anti-Indian rebels in Kashmir, a charge that Pakistani officials have rejected.

India’s Home Minister ruled out talks with Pakistan and says he is ready for dialogue with Kashmiris during his trip to the region.

An alliance of Kashmiri political parties has called for a meeting next week to discuss the "inclusion of nonlocals" in the voter list after New Delhi granted voting rights to people from central India living in Kashmir. The move will allow about 2.5 million potential new voters in India-administered Kashmir to participate in elections set for next year.