Ahead of the final phase of a local election in Indian-controlled Kashmir, a key resistance leader says the regional polls to choose a local government will not resolve the decades-old conflict that is at the heart of a dispute between New Delhi and Pakistan.

In Indian-controlled Kashmir, residents are voting in elections that some hope will lead to restoration of the territory's statehood, which ended when it became a federally governed territory in 2019.

Residents of Indian-controlled Kashmir are participating in a local election under tight security, marking the first time in decades that separatist groups are not boycotting the vote. For decades, separatists in Kashmir boycotted elections,

No party is seen likely to win an outright majority amid political fragmentation in the disputed Himalayan territory

Indian-administered Kashmir voted on Wednesday to elect its first government since New Delhi scrapped the Himalayan territory's semi-autonomous status, sparking widespread protest in a region wracked by a decades-long insurgency.

The latest voter turnout in Jammu and Kashmir's assembly elections is below 2014 levels, with 20 out of 26 seats registering a decline. Only 5 seats in Srinagar district have registed a jump in turnout compared to last assembly election,