Pakistan-administered Kashmir votes in reduced third phase amid unrest

What the report says

Voting has begun in the third and final phase of Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly elections, but the poll is taking place in a reduced form after unrest forced delays in much of the Poonch division, Al Jazeera reported from Islamabad. Only four of the 11 constituencies originally due to vote are participating on Monday, with more than 800 polling stations open in Bagh and Haveli districts for about 460,000 registered voters.

The other seven constituencies — five in Poonch and two in Sudhnoti district — were postponed last week because of security concerns. Local officials said a new date will be announced later. The disruption follows weeks of demonstrations by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, a local pressure group that has demanded the removal of 12 assembly seats reserved for displaced Kashmiris living elsewhere in Pakistan. The group has also called for a boycott of the election and was banned in June under antiterrorism laws.

Al Jazeera said the protests turned violent, with residents and rights groups blaming the unrest for more than 50 deaths, while the government has said at least seven police and paramilitary personnel were killed. Authorities have also restricted international media access in the region. The current vote concludes the three-phase election for the 53-member assembly, after earlier rounds in Mirpur and Muzaffarabad divisions and refugee constituencies elsewhere in Pakistan. Turnout in the first two phases was reported below levels seen in 2016 and 2021, underscoring the effect of the unrest on the electoral process.