Kashmir separatist party backs polls

A prominent separatist group in Indian-administered Kashmir has said it will not call for a boycott of state elections due to take place later this year.

In a newspaper interview, the head of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, said his party, however, had no plans to take part in the polls.

Correspondents say the announcement is a major policy shift for the Jamaat-e-Islami, which spearheaded an anti-election campaign during state polls in 1996 and 1999.

Jamaat-e-Islami is a key member of the Hurriyat conference, the main separatist alliance in Indian-administered Kashmir.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service