Pakistan-administered Kashmir has gone to the polls under heavy security for the first round of local legislative elections that have been racked by violence.
Voting began on Monday morning in the first of three rounds of the elections. Dozens of people have been killed in the run-up to the voting as protests demanding electoral reform transformed into deadly clashes.
Last week, the electoral commission announced that voting would be split into three phases due to concerns over stretched security personnel.
Witnesses said turnout in Mirpur district, the first area to vote, appeared low in the summer heat. Some candidates complained that internet restrictions imposed during the protests and ensuing clashes had hampered their campaigns.
About 3.8 million residents in the Pakistan-administered portion of the disputed Himalayan region are eligible to vote in an election seen as a test of security after weeks of clashes between police and protesters.
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