By IANS,
Islamabad : Clashes between supporters of rival political parties were reported from several places during polling Sunday in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, a media report said.
Elections to 38 of the 41 legislative assembly seats of Pakistani Kashmir were held under tight security. Polling started at 8.00 a.m. and lasted till 5.00 p.m.
There was not much rush at the booths in the early hours but polling picked up later in the afternoon, The News reported.
Complaints of late start of polling were received from some places. At some polling stations, the situation turned violent when activists of rival political parties clashed with each other, the newspaper said on its website.
In the Batalian area of the LA-6 constituency, polling was halted after clashes. The Ranjana area of Muzaffarabad also witnessed similar scenes. Polling was also stopped temporarily in Abbaspur and Jabar areas of Poonch district.
Two people were injured at the Noorgala polling station when clashes erupted between activists of the Muslim Conference and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the main contestants.
Besides people in Kashmir, Kashmiris living in the cities of Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Vehari, Gonjranawala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Faisalabad, and Peshawar also cast their votes for the respective seats in these cities.
Polling for three seats has been postponed.
Some 12,000 armed forces personnel and 15,000 policemen were deployed for the voting. A total of 4,366 polling stations were set up, of which 1,000 were deemed sensitive.