Voting underway in Pakistani Kashmir

The JKLF refused to take part in the election

By Zulifqar Ali in Muzaffarabad

Voters in Pakistani-administered Kashmir are going to the polls to elect 40 members to the legislative assembly in the region.

More than two million Kashmiris in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and in Pakistan have the right to vote.

Twenty-eight seats will be contested in Pakistan-administered Kashmir itself while 12 are reserved for Kashmiri refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir who settled in Pakistan after partition in 1947.

Fifteen political parties are taking part in the elections and a total of 340 candidates competing.

JKLF boycott

The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) has decided to boycott the elections after the rejection of nomination papers for 25 JKLF candidates.

The authorities say that those rejected did not sign a declaration that they stand for the accession of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan.

The JKLF described this as the worst kind of rigging, and several dozen of its supporters have been arrested while protesting against the decision.

On Tuesday, JKLF chief Amanullah Khan was taken into custody in Pakistan-administered Kashmir by the police.

The police say that they intend to arrest more JKLF supporters to preserve law and order.

The main political parties contesting the election are Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, the All-Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference and the Jamaat-e-Islami.

A sole candidate of the All-Parties National Alliance, a pro-independence alliance of 12 organisations, is also contesting the election.