61% vote in Valley, one wish: India, Pak must not go to war

With the Mumbai terror attacks returning the chill in Indo-Pak ties, people in Kashmir Valley once again ignored boycott calls by separatists to vote in Phase 3 of the state elections.

With the Mumbai terror attacks returning the chill in Indo-Pak ties — the worry in Islamabad showed as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani cancelled his trip to Hong Kong and was briefed, along with President Asif Ali Zardari, by General Kayani on the operational preparedness of the Pakistan army — people in Kashmir Valley once again ignored boycott calls by separatists to vote in Phase 3 of the state elections. The turnout today was 61 per cent in this Ground Zero of Indo-Pak hostilities but many voters, as they stood in long queues, had one wish: the two countries must not go to war despite Mumbai.

“We have come out to say that there is no need for war. Our only hope lies in a strong India, Pakistan. Both should be safe,” said Abdur Kabeer Wani of Lacha village. He said he was voting for a man with “an accommodative outlook and a middle-way approach” to the Kashmir problem. “After 20 years of turmoil, we think our voices will be heard if Kashmir takes the middle ground.”

Neighbour Abdul Raheem said the last thing Kashmiris wanted was fresh tension in Indo-Pak ties. “Kashmiris have lost peace of mind. We are voting to find a remedy for that,” Raheem said.

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At Trehgam, the village of JKLF founder Maqbool Bhat, more than 30 per cent votes had been cast by mid-day. Only Bhat’s mohalla Mirpura gave the polls a miss after his sister-in-law was injured in an anti-election protest. “Geelani (hardline separatist) does not know what he says when he asks us to boycott elections,” said Ghulam Mohiuddin Khawaja of Trehgam. “If we don’t vote, somebody will still win, someone who may not respond to our needs”. He said the mainstream parties too wanted the Kashmir problem resolved.

At Dardpora — with over 100 widows, it is the Village of Pain — it was no different. Long queues were visible and, for the first time, a candidate from the Pahari community was contesting the polls.

Abdul Majid Zindadil has promised to focus on the problems of the Paharis — a declaration which sent the village to the polling booths. Begum Jan, whose husband was a militant and was killed eleven years ago, wants a future for her three sons, away from violence. “I have been told my sons will be safe if I vote. I want my family to lead a normal life,” Jan said.