Brisk voting for local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir for first time after losing autonomy

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Voting for the first phase of a staggered election to choose a local government concluded Wednesday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, the first such vote since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government stripped the disputed region of its special status five years ago.

Turnout was about 59%, the region's chief electoral officer said in a statement, as voting was “incident-free and peaceful.”

Authorities had deployed thousands of additional police and paramilitary soldiers for security in the seven southern districts of the region, which has been roiled by an insurgency against Indian rule for decades. Over 2.3 million residents are eligible to cast their votes to choose 24 lawmakers out of 219 candidates in the first phase of the election.

Wearing riot gear and carrying assault rifles, troops set up checkpoints and patrolled constituencies as long lines of voters stretched around the polling booths.

The second and third phases are scheduled for Sept. 25 and Oct. 1. The process is staggered for logistical reasons and to allow troops to move around to stop potential violence in the Himalayan region.

For the first time, authorities limited access to polling stations for foreign media and denied press credentials to most journalists working with international media, including to The Associated Press, without citing any reason.

India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. Militants in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.

India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and most Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.

The vote is the first in a decade, and the first since Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in 2019 scrapped the Muslim-majority region’s semi-autonomy, downgraded the former state to a federally governed territory and stripped its separate constitution and inherited protections on land and jobs. It was also divided into two federal territories, Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir, ruled directly by New Delhi, allowing it to appoint administrators to run the territories along unelected bureaucrats and security personnel.

Many people said they knew their votes won’t solve the dispute over Kashmir, but provided a rare window to express their frustration with direct Indian control.

Aamir Ahmed, a first-time voter in Pulwama town, said it was important to elect a local representative “who does not condone wrongdoing.”

“We have witnessed a lot of suffering in the last 10 years,” Ahmed said.

Another voter, 80-year-old farmer Ali Mohammad Alai, said he had been “reduced to penury by the Modi government” after authorities took away his land given to him decades ago for cultivation by the local administration. “All I want is to get that land back,” he said. “Our own government can do that.”

People in the Kashmir Valley had layered rights to use of land since reforms in the 1950s that mainly gave Muslim farmers possession of land they tilled for the minority Hindu rulers and its elite. Some of those rights were rescinded after 2019 changes.

In Kishtwar town, multiple voters said they hoped the polling would culminate in a government that cared about economic development and addressed their main issues. “Be it BJP or some other party or a coalition, we urgently want development and better life. Politics can wait,” said Chander Jeet Sharma, 49.

The multistage election will allow Kashmir to have its own truncated government and a local legislature, called an assembly, instead of remaining under New Delhi’s direct rule. A chief minister will head a council of ministers in the government.

However, there will be a limited transition of power from New Delhi to the local assembly as Kashmir will continue to be a “Union Territory” — directly controlled by the federal government — with India’s Parliament remaining its main legislator. The elected government will have partial control over areas like education, culture and taxation but not over the police. Kashmir’s statehood must be restored for the new government to have powers similar to other states of India.

Multiple local parties have campaigned on promises to fight for reversal of 2019 changes and address other key issues like rising unemployment and inflation in the region where locals have struggled amid curtailed civil liberties particularly after the revocation of the special status.

India's ruling BJP, however, has vowed to block any move aimed at undoing those changes but promised to help in the region’s economic development.

The region’s last assembly election was held in 2014, after which Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party for the first time ruled in a coalition with the local Peoples Democratic Party. But the government collapsed in 2018, after BJP withdrew from the coalition.

Polls in the past have been marked with violence, boycotts and vote-rigging, even though India called them a victory over separatism.

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Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard as people queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote in Naira, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

People queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote in Bellow, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

People queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote in Naira, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard as people queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote in Bellow, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Muslim women arrive for cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Paramilitary soldiers stand guard as people queue up to vote during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Muslim women voter queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

People help an elderly woman in a wheel chair down a ramp after she cast her vote during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

People queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Muslim women voter queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Muslim women voter queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Women voters queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Muslim women voter queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Women voters queue up to cast their vote at a polling booth during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

A woman shows the indelible ink mark on her finger after casting her vote during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Paramilitary soldiers stand guard as people queue up to vote during the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly election, in Kishtwar, India, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Kashmiri women queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote in Marval, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Kashmiri's queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote in Marval, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

A Kashmiri man walks back after casting his vote at a polling booth in Marval, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard as Kashmiri's queue up at a polling booth to cast their vote in Marval, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

Indian paramilitary soldiers arrive to guard outside the venue for distribution of election material, in Pulwama south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers arrive to guard outside the venue for distribution of election material, in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Polling officials carry electronic voting machines and other election material to a venue for distribution, in Pulwama south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldier guard a venue for distribution of election material, in Pulwama south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Former union minster and star campaigner of BJP Anurag Thakur and state in charge Ram Madhav wave to supporters during a campaign rally, after party candidates filed the nomination papers for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections at Nagrota outskirts of Jammu, India, Thursday, Sep.12, 2024.(AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

Supporters of India's opposition Congress party, wave during an election rally at Dooru some 78 kilometers (49 miles) south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir,Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party workers attend a rally, ahead of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections in Jammu, India, Saturday Sep.7, 2024.(AP Photo/Channi Anand, File)

Indian paramilitary soldiers arrive to guard outside the venue for distribution of election material, in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldiers arrive to guard outside the venue for distribution of election material, in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Indian paramilitary soldier guard as polling officials carry electronic voting machines and other election material to a venue for distribution, in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Security personnel members stand and wait as polling officials prepare to leave for their respective polling booths on the eve of the first phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election, in Ramban 150 kilometers (94 miles) northeast of Jammu, India, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Polling officials carry electronic voting machines and other election material to a venue for distribution, in Pulwama south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Markets in Europe and Asia shot higher on Thursday after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession in the U.S. with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates.

U.S. futures were higher after a lackluster response on Wall Street to the Fed's move the day before. The future for the S&P 500 jumped 1.3% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8%.

Germany's DAX added 0.8% to 18,861.88 and the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 1.3% to 7,541.50. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.9% to 8,326.93.

In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.1% to 37,155.33, lifted by major export manufacturers' shares. Toyota Motor Corp. surged 5.1%, Sony Group Corp. added 2.9% and Hitachi Ltd. climbed 5.8%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2% to 18,013.16.

The Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.7% to 2,736.02, while Taiwan's Taiex closed 1.7% higher.

South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2% to 2,580.80.

The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England are also holding monetary policy meetings this week. Neither central bank is expected to move on rates, though the language of what the officials say could be an indicator of later moves and still influence markets.

Because the Fed's half-percentage point rate cut was so well telegraphed, markets had already climbed in anticipation. So, Wall Street’s reactions to the 180-degree turn on its policy rate were relatively muted.

“Markets barely reacted to the Fed’s 50 (basis point) rate cut, on balance, and our base case is that further cuts won’t move the needle too much either,” Thomas Mathews of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

It was the first cut to the federal funds rate in over four years, ending a stretch where the Fed kept rates at a two-decade high to slow the U.S. economy enough to stifle the worst inflation in generations.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% and the Dow dipped 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.3%.

The Fed's move may help financial markets both by easing the brakes on the economy, which has been slowing under the weight of higher rates and by boosting prices for all kinds of investments. Besides stocks, gold and bond prices had already rallied in recent months on expectations that rate cuts were coming.

Now that inflation has eased significantly from its peak two summers ago and appears to be heading toward 2%, the Fed says it it can turn more of its attention toward protecting the slowing job market and overall economy.

“The time to support the labor market is when it’s strong and not when you begin to see the layoffs,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference. “That’s the situation we’re in.”

Some critics say the Federal Reserve may have already kept interest rates too high for too long, but Powell said that “We don’t think we’re behind.”

“The focus has now decisively shifted to the labor market, and there’s a sense that the Fed is trying to strike a better balance between jobs and inflation,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management

Like stock prices, Treasury yields wavered up and down repeatedly immediately after the Fed announced its cut and published its projections.

Trading in Tupperware Brands remained halted after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its stock has been sinking, down to 51 cents, since a mini-revival early in the pandemic sent its stock above $30.

In other dealings, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 98 cents to $70.86 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, was up 97 cents at $74.58 per barrel.

The dollar rose to 142.88 Japanese yen from 142.29 yen. The euro rose to $1.1151 from $1.1120.

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Specialist Genaro Saporito, foreground, works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The news conference of Federal' Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appears on a screen as trader Neil Catania works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Leon Montana works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)