ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials in Pakistan administered Kashmir on Tuesday accused an outlawed political group of attempting to sabotage elections for the region’s constitutional assembly, while also alleging that militants from the Pakistani Taliban infiltrated weekslong protests. The accusations came a day after clashes with security forces killed one paramilitary officer and wounded several others.The violence erupted when armed, masked protesters at a sit-in opened fire on police and security personnel deployed to secure polling, the regional government and police said. There were unconfirmed reports that several protesters were killed or wounded, but officials did not immediately confirm any civilian casualties.Voting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in its entirety by both countries, began Monday and is being held in phases through Aug. 10.
The now weeks-old protest encampment has overshadowed the election, with residents reporting low voter turnout in Monday’s first phase, when polling was held for several assembly seats in the city of Mirpur.At a news conference in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, government spokesman Mohammad Rashid Hanif alleged that the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee, or JAAC, sought to derail the elections. He said a “significant number” of Fitna al-Khawarij, the term Islamabad uses for members of the Pakistani Taliban, were also among the protesters.
