Pakistan-administered Kashmir opens polls in violence-wracked vote

First of three rounds of voting held after weeks of protests during which dozens of people were killed.Pakistan-administered Kashmir has gone to the polls under heavy security for the first round of local legislative elections that have been racked by violence.Voting began on Monday morning in the first of three rounds of the elections. Dozens of people have been killed in the run-up to the voting as protests demanding electoral reform transformed into deadly clashes.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Why is India vetting books in Kashmir in search of ‘anti-national’ content?list 2 of 3Why have India’s Gen Z protesters called for a march to parliament?list 3 of 3At least 25 killed as floods and landslides hit northern Indiaend of listLast week, the electoral commission announced that voting would be split into three phases due to concerns over stretched security personnel.Witnesses said turnout in Mirpur district, the first area to vote, appeared low in the summer heat. Some candidates complained that internet restrictions imposed during the protests and ensuing clashes had hampered their campaigns.About 3.8 million residents in the Pakistan-administered portion of the disputed Himalayan region are eligible to vote in an election seen as a test of security after weeks of clashes between police and protesters.Since early June, nearly 40 people have been killed. Authorities have imposed an unofficial state of emergency by suspending mobile and internet services across most of the territory.“The internet shutdown has created serious difficulties … for political candidates and the electoral process itself. Reaching voters has become much harder,” independent candidate Malik Alauddin told the AFP news agency in the lead-up to the vote.Alauddin said he adopted a campaign style favoured by pre-internet generations, focusing on gatherings in remote villages and going door to door to potential voters’ homes.