The District Council election, concluded early this week, was the first such exercise since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government last year revoked the special status of the Muslim-majority, Indian-controlled region. New Delhi then cracked down on the opposition and rounded up hundreds of people to pre-empt protests and violence. India and Pakistan have claimed all of the Kashmir region since the partition of British-ruled India into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India in 1947. The alliance's victory shows that Kashmiris have not accepted Modi's decision to end Kashmir's special status, said Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister and head of the National Conference. After their release from lengthy detention, Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, chief of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party, announced the alliance in October to seek a peaceful restoration of Kashmir's autonomy.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 26, 2020 07:18 UTC