Is this not exercise of right to self determination ?.

now what ???

haha the first picture of the two migrants, the one on the right - she's swearing at the cameraman lol

lol @ the first picture!

It's extremely heartening to see people coming out in such large numbers to vote despite the all the odds stacked against them. This is definitely something Pakistan and it's people won't love to see. Long live India and it's flourishing democracy.

The dance of democracy. Feels good. Really good.

Good Job ,India

her finger is telling the whole story:D

This is called vibrant democracy whre r pak comment.

Kashmiri love india .

Lol first pic though!!! Good to see people going for voting.

Wow!, Dawn you were quick to get those election photos. At last people of Kashmir getting to express themselves. FOr sure , family rulers and local dons will be ousted in this election

Long live my India. My Pakistani brothers, please see that this is the right to self determination. Now compare this with AJK and Baltistan. And they have also ceded Aksai Chin to the Chinese.What a shame!

as of 4 pm, its record 70% polling, will rise again.

Pakistan Government and separatist won't like to see these pictures...Record 70% turnout in Kashmir so far, it is likely to go up, happy for my Kashmir brothers and sisters

@wise- Her finger is shown to those people who are creating problems in Kashmir, this is how a democratic country selects a leader to lead there state out of poverty and promises development not blood shed, dare anybody think of calling Kashmir there own its a part of India and will remain so forever ..... WELL DONE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA!!!!!!

This is democracy,self determination, plebisit what u call. now pakistan must recogn.

Smile on indian Kashmiris Look so nice. Hope one day POK people will also smile like this in india.

@debadutta - Yes, and the girl on the right is displaying it openly!!!

Modi will be the best thing that happened to Kashmir! We are proud to have a PM like Modi!

Long Live Democracy..!!!

This is called vibrant democracy.god bless india

@Sharath Chandra: No, and how can you equate the two? Difference between the two is common sense and must be understood. Kashmir had many state elections and not one of “Right to Self-Determination” and look at the outcome of all those elections. It has taken the whole of the subcontinent by its throat. The right to self-determination is what’s required and is legal. The government of India is a signatory to it via UN resolutions. There is no substitute to it.

70% record turn out. Muslims turned out in even more numbers than ever defying calls of separatists. Lolz..now what plebiscite ?

@Muhammad Saleem : Govt of India and Pakistan are also signatory to Shimla Agreement...

Heartening. Let Pakistan say whatever they have to. I wish Pakistani had this right to elect Govt. Any such elections in POK??

@AH even you saw it it was for you also.

Har har modi..ghar ghar modi :)

@Muhammad Saleem Try right to self determination in your Taliban areas and Balochistan and see if it works.

This may not be a vote for self determination, but it clearly shows that the Kashmiris are as concerned about any other people as to who is going to represent them in running affairs of their state. Absence of any activity on the electoral scene would have meant that the Kashmiris are not happy with their lot in India. This is a good thing for India. Unfortunately Pakistan may not be able to gain much solace from this development in Jammu and Kashmir

Kashmiris should be given the right of self determination through a plebiscite under the auspices of the UN resolutions (3 of them so far). It would have been more heartening to see some comments from some of the Indians here in support of the Kashmiris by acknowledging the sufferings that they have gone through at the hands of the Indian military. This vote under no circumstances means that Kashmiri people should be denied the right of self determination.

Behold, Democracy in it's splendor.

That girls gesture is towards the separatist and N.S..................................................

Kashmiris want peace, development, security, supporting the democratic system in all forms. Hope POK and AJK realizes and join India.

@Muhammad Saleem Arre saleem bhai, care to explain the UN resolutions ???

Where are my Pakistani brothers now? Where are they hiding? No comments from Pakistanis? Salute to my great India and its democracy.

@Muhammad Saleem before that the first legal and legitimate thing according to the UN resolution is withdrawal of Pakistani forces from Pak occupied kashmir. Why is that always overlooked by my pakistani friends? the accession was legal, its the magnanimity of Nehru that he went to UN. No present day leader in the this world would've done that.

Salute the people of J&K for expressing their faith in Democracy and exercising their right to self determination by voting....

Some reports are saying the BJP is busing loads of party members into Kashmir posing as registered local voters. "Shining India" all the way to the bogus voting stations. No wonder the partisan and pro BJP EC of India is boasting a 70% turnout!

I visited Kashmir last year and I realised how wonderful the local people are. All they care for is peace and development. The 70% turnout doesn't surprise me. Kashmir is on the cusp of massive development and progress, and the citizens of this part of India truly deserve their success.

@Muhammad Saleem The right to self-determination also required in Waziristan, Baltistan, Gilgit, Quetta, Sind,Thar Parkar, Balochistan.

@SALAHUDDIN If Pakistanis have guts then Prove it in front of International Media, its an open challenge.

@Muhammad Saleem is sorry, when Shimla agreement was signed before 96000 POW from Pakistan were released it was agreed that dispute will be settled by talks and will not have any third party (UN) in between

tamaacha kaisa lagaa?

@SALAHUDDIN "Some reports are saying the BJP is busing loads of party members into Kashmir posing as registered local voters. "Shining India" all the way to the bogus voting stations. No wonder the partisan and pro BJP EC of India is boasting a 70% turnout!" Other than "reports" in ur head, there isnt a single report that says what u think ...

@Ali sial So Bhai.. Is this what u r waiting for? An all out assault when its UN resolution for vote? I am sure majority will vote for India even if u try to scare them

I really admire Dawn for reporting real news!

@Muhammad Saleem fot the un resolutions pak has to remove all her forces fron the occupied kashmir. When are you going to do that?

Dawn you are misrepresenting facts. According to the constitution of India, no one can migrate to J&K. And even if they do for employment, they can't have voting rights. These are Hindus from Jammu or Kashmiri Pandits- sons and daughters of the soil.

Well, these Kashmiris believe in a democracy and not Mushraff style of Govt which he professes recently.

One interesting thing is Election Commission of India has not been questioned by anyone. It's fairness has not been questioned by political parties or the common Kashmiri. If Fairness of the election was in question, people will not come in such big numbers, stand in the queue with such low freezing temperatures and then vote. Foreign media has also reported about these elections.

@SALAHUDDIN Election commission has been most respected institution for it's fairness. No political party or the common Kashmiri has questioned integrity. If this election was fake, then why people will come in so many numbers, stand in freezing cold for hours and vote. They would have protested in large numbers, if they did not had trust on the election commission.

@Muhammad Saleem But self-determination can only happen if Pakistan army goes out of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit region according to UN resolution. Indian army can be there to manage law and order according to the UN resolution. Can this happen?

To all my Indian folks. Lets give some credit to the editor for calling spade as a spade. I'm sure they've seen the mood in Kashmir and even gone to the extent of writing people voted despite boycott. That says it all. And this is one of the reasons why i like dawn. They have the guts to put the truth most of the time, be it this one or swachch bharat, i found better relevance here. The other reason is Tahir Mehdi... His articles are really good especially the one about karachi through the ages. Good stuff dawn. Keep it up

Voting by no means is a referendum DT Kashmir wants to b with India, how does it change the disputed position of Kashmir in UN. It is merely fr administrative purpose, for bijli, sadak & paani, so Indians, dear open ur eyes & don't get befooled...

@SALAHUDDIN - Yes it can happen in Pakistan, but in India any shade of this and Election commission will pull the plug.

70% in spite of threats by terrorists and their supporters.

The high turn out of Kashmiris against Hurriyet and separatists call to boycott the elections vindicate India's position that they are not the true representatives of the people therefore, no talks should be held by Pakistan's govt with them.

@Muhammad Saleem : Kashmiris which voted yesterday know that they are electing people who take an oath that they shall protect the Indian Constitution and the territorial integrity of India. So in effect it is a plebiscite and right of self determination. But i cant blame you for not understanding it because democracy never existed in Pakistan. :-(

@Ali sial The Kashmir people have already suffered for generations under the false Pakistani propaganda. They have now realized that if progress is to be achieved then they have to join the mainstream and take up modern education and science. In this modern world there are no Hindus and Muslims, there are only rich and poor people. The Kashmiri today wants to be educated and prosperous and this is why they are voting in large numbers for a change. There is no place for the gun culture in his life. You in Pakistan only need to compare the situation after 5-years. Then you will realize how much satisfying life becomes without these gun and bomb throwing terrorists.

An invader and brutal occupier cannot conduct fraud elections under its ever menacing present army. No foreign monitors are allowed to observe these rigged elections. India still has not learnt, all these rituals for its own misinformed people is not bought by the international community. No one is even mentioning it because they know it is an exercise of deception.

For all you ignorant folks talking about the finger....the girl is displaying the finger on which a mark has been put to indicate that she has voted in the elections. But then you would have to understand the meaning of a democracy and voting to understand the mark.

@indian as vibrant as Gujarat justice to the criminal who led the genocide. Why no international monitors in this vibrant democracy with 800,000 foreign army punishing those who don't go and vote for BJP.

I hope "hardline Pakistanis" and "Kashmiri separatists" understand now that they have failed in Kashmir. Despite the call to boycott elections majority overwhelmingly participated in electing their future. Pak needs to fix its own mess first and learn some lessons from history. Jai Hind! Long live kashmir

@Ali sial You first sort out the voting that IK is crying about. IK tells that your last national election was 100% rigged and that is why NS is PM. You people cannot resolve your national election and commenting about Kashmir.

@Ali sial You first sort out the voting that IK is crying about. IK tells that your last national election was 100% rigged and that is why NS is PM. You people cannot resolve your national election and commenting about Kashmir.

Though I am not a big fan of either Pakistan or Dawn but I must admit that Dawn is a very bold news paper of Pakistan......These pics are clearly a tight slap on the faces of Pakistanis in general and Nawaz Sharif in particular but Dawn has shown the courage to publish these. Feeling very happy for my Kashmiri brothers and sisters. Wish our Kashmiri brothers and sisters in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) too had similar freedom to choose their leader. These elections should be an eye opener for people living in PoK.

@Sahil I Second you...I bet if Pakistani Gov Undergo with a Plebiscite in Various states in Pakistan, they will left with Pakistani Punjab only.

@SALAHUDDIN India does not conduct elections in this way...our EC is one of the most strongest and neutral pillar of our democracy...instead of accusing elections and its processes in India, Pakistan shall learn and implement better processes...

i think some pakistani common ppl should come and visit jammu & kashmir by getting visa & see with you own eyes......then you ll realize its not the same .....as u always heard in ur country.

@Muhammad Saleem Give that right to balochis.

@bilal Keep telling yourself that. Ask these people to come to pak if they want. They will spit on your faces haha.

@Jeev tamasha acha hai ;-)

I m from india and a regular reader of your newspaper and found it quite independent and neutral as far as news related to India is concerned. regarding Kashmir poll, u hve shown good fotos, but it was also expected that the crucial factor that the voting turnout was more than 70%, inspite of boycott call from separatist, should hve also been mentioned..

@Modi now with wife, thanks my friend its comments by ignorant people like you that make Indians feel that Modi is the right man for the job.....keep it up !

Thousands of voters? what a joke with these pics they don't even make into hundreds rest I see is army most these are poor folks who as per usual are offered a month of ration and Rs 200.00 cash to come out and vote India plz stop fooling the world

If people can be forced out of their homes for random searches or head counts at gun point, they can easily be forced out for voting too....What's the big deal in this...

By looking at the first pic I see can how serious and transparent these so called election are according indian election comm mark should made on which finger?

Firstly Pakistan should conduct free and fair national elections (forget POK*) before the come out claiming these Kashmiri elections or rigged etc. NZs victory in last election is under a big question mark as AK & Qadri are claiming the elections were rigged. This is a historic turnout by Kashmiris and the recent floods and rescue action by the Indian central government definitely has gone a long way in building trust among Kashmiris on both side of the border. As far as the UN resolution etc is concerned Pakistanis must be first taught what the Shimla agreement is before they can talk about UN. Also, in today's world what UN says has very less relevance as opposed to what decision India-Pak-Kashmiris take together. Once article 370 is repealed and Kashmir is opened for all Indians to settle down, Kashmir will see bright future with good schools, infrastructure, hospitals, dams, 24 hr electricity, good transportation as well as a big boost the states tourism industry.

The picture with the obscene gesture should not have made it to the newspaper . Freedom is one thing , vulgarity is another.

@bloggervat Yes I agree.... My day is incomplete if I dont read dawn , be it from office or mobile... I like dawns articles, the absence of clutter, readable fonts, no jazzy colors, rather just eye soothing. Contrast that to Times of India, it almost seems like a porn site- calling out for attention, even firstpost with its Elephant size fonts and underscores is an eyesore. The edit team is really good. I like you dawn and if I can rate your website I d give it a 9 on 10.

@Sardar Khan That happens in Pakistan and you are quite aware of it

@riz I believe you need to be aware of the election process.It is not a rally where all people congregate at the same place. We are a mature and resposible democracy and conduct elections regularly. So probably we have mastered the process. Pakistan , being new to democracy will take time to appreciate the process and in sue course, provided it continues its democracy , hone the skills of conducting elections

Looking at the count of Indian comments, there are more Indian readers of Dawn then Pakistanis and Dawn will allow any Indian to publish any anti-Pakistan comment. Try posting an anti Indian comment in any Indian media and see if it gets published ... NEVER. This shows the big heart and mentality of Pakistanis compared to Indians which is why India will never be anything more than an annoying and overpopulated country whose citizens like to think otherwise.

@indian I am common Kashmiri.....india is not my nation I have never voted ad I will not vote till my Kashmir will get free....dese fake elections under the 8 lakh forces which r stationed in india bear no justification ......india is a occupier ...that is all nothin else

@rohit so colonel Rohit, murdering Muslims on a train was not enough, you have to carry it on in Kashmir.

"Young migrant Kashmiri Hindus" - watch these carefully selected words by Pakistani newspapers !!!

@S K Sinha yes, and guess what, without 800,000 troops brutalizing them.

Democracy at work.

Thanks, DAWN. Few pictures are worth million words!!!

Does it tell you some thing about Kashmir. Read also Owen Bennett Jones' article on BBC web site.

@bloggervat I concur with. "Dawn" is one Pakistani news paper which got guts to say what it feels right. At times I disagree with them, but I do respect them. Pakistanis always parrot plebiscite in Kashmir. They need to do it all over Kashmir including What they donated to China ,POK(Azad Kashmir) and Baltistan. How about a plebiscite in Sind, Baluchistan and Waziristan? Do the Punjabi Junta Army Junta and Sindhi Landlords agree?? May God bless Pakistanis. They endured enough

Kudos to Dawn. I never thought any Pakistani newspaper would cover this story.

No doubt... Kashmiri has the right to choose their own leader.. its not about India, its about Pakistan... Its about Kashmir and its future..

@Laddoo Dil behlane ko Ghalib yeh khayal acha hai. Try reading comments on TOI, and you will be proved so wrong !

@Sharath chandra Yup it is...

Amazing, Kashmiris got their chance now.

My Country ! My People ! My Army ! I am proud of them.

@Tasaduqmairaj very well said

this is all about dram and show off...the only thing people of Kashmir want is self determination , freedom from INdian Occupation and thats it!!!

@Laddoo I feel like agreeing with you... but in part. Pls dont sterotype everyone. And especially not a nation with so much diversity in everything. There are people who are fair and they are in significant numbers. That's why this diverse nation inspite of 130 crore population and 10 religions and 10000 castes and 1000 languages is together. Also 40% of this population is BPL. Also more than 60% of this population is below 35 years. Must be something right with the majority.... else this would have collapsed years ago. Good morning and have a great day.

@Sharath chandra - No, its not. Self determination is when the Pakistan Army supervises the elections in India in J & K and the vote card has two questions - (a) Do you want to be part of Pakistan and (b) Do you want to be part of Pakistan. The election will be supervised by a serving Corps Commander of Pakistan Army.

@Muhammad Saleem - Please understand India's view. We do not recognise UN intervention in Kashmir. That is what we have been trying to tell Pakistan for 68 years but somehow they do not understand. The UN is not a court of law which can pass a judgement that all members have to abide by. Its a voluntary body. Everything thing is by consensus. Most Pakistanis have been given to believe that the UN note on the resolution is like some Supreme Court judgement that India is not adhering to.

@Sharath chandra no

Modi put the removal of article 370 in his manifesto. and see all the people came out for voting. Now Modi can tell the world how wrong was Pakistan. This is kashimiri voting for themselve. what else needed.

Pakistanis won't like it ;-)

Caption for the 2nd Photo from the top - Kashmiris vote and give a clear message to the terrorists

@Tasaduqmairaj Yes , we know we have traitors on both side of border. And these traitors are killing innocents in India & Pakistan. if you are not happy, why don't you go to a better place? Who is stopping you?

It's interesting that the article says "thousands voted" but doesn't say that there was a 71% turnout...i guess the facts will leave the pakistanis too embarrassed.

democracy or hypocracy? India will pay price for this Arrogant behaviour for not to give right of self determination and independant kashmiries.

@wise you see what you are looking for, but you can't see the ink mark

@Modi now with wife what an analysis.. You are fit to be with Isis with such a faulty analysis. Lol

@riz sour grapes for foxes. Lol

@rehan that was shown to separatists and their supporters.

@Tasaduqmairaj Common Kashmiri is amoug the 70% people who voted. You just belong to a small percent of vocal extremists.

@Moby she is showing it to Pakistan

Do you see what I see?

This is called REAL democracy.

After 50 years of independence, lets sit on a drawing table and have a healthy debate as to what pakistan has accomplished compared to India. While we (pakistan) on name of protecting our culture religion and civilization have overlooked elements of strong democracy, devlopment and growth. India has moved far ahead in each and every field from sports to science, politics to tourism, railways to airways they are ahead of us in all terms. The time has ripen for us to wake up and decide our faith either to be a part of the story of our developing neighbour or to sit back and wait for someone to take charge of the country and lead us to the right direction. The people of Kashmir have realized that they have received nothing from the 50 years of so called struggle and are now more willing to become a part of Indian growth story. They now know that Pakistan has very little to offer except extremism and on going struggle, they know what is the situation in Azad kashmir (PoK) and are aware about human rights situation over there. This is a very appropriate time for Kashmiris to choose their destiny while we as pakistanis need to fix our basic first, get our educational and social framework in right place and choose the way of growth and developement.

The poster showing the 'Mughal Emperors' in the class room converted into a poling booth conveys a lot. What the children of Kashmir are taught. It is the evidence that the NC, PDP mafias are encouraging separatism.

@Hussain from Delhi I have great regards to Dawn , its fearless , no Indian Paper can stand before dawn

@rohit Please stop living in your fairyland dear - don't you know we Pakistani Kashmiris can't even visit our ancestral homeland - Dal Lake where my family lived for thousands of years!! FYI --- your great democracy India refuses all Pakistanis Kashmir visas - even to our Ministers who's family members are buried in JK and who want to pay their respects to their grandparents and parents at their grave sites. Your India is a fantasy sorry to say - vs the real hate-filled India which is the true face we see.

@Pats it just shows, the Kashmiri's accepted the last rulers as the Mughals and from then on they want to be part of Pakistan. Everything in between, they reject.