International Shia News Agency

Assembly elections undergo 2nd stage in Kashmir state

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)- The Indian-administered Kashmir holds the second stage of assembly elections, meant to elect a local government for the disputed region.

Participants started casting their ballots in the second stage on Tuesday.

The elections for the 87-member state assembly are being held in five phases. The local government would comprise a chief minister, who will serve as the state’s top official, and a council of ministers.

The results will be announced on 23 December.

Pro-independence and opposition groups in Kashmir have called for a boycott of the elections.

India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947. The archrivals lay claim to the whole region but each of them only controls a section of it.

New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control in 2003, and a year later launched talks aimed at brokering a regional peace.

The process was, however, suspended after over 160 people lost their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

 

 

Source:PressTV

www.shafaqna.com

 

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