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1st Ld Writethru: Indian-controlled Kashmir comes under Governor's rule

Xinhua, January 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Indian-controlled Kashmir's Governor Narendra Nath Vohra Saturday issued a proclamation regarding imposition of Governor's rule in the restive region.

The proclamation for the rule was issued following the concurrence from the President of India as the post of chief minister fell vacant following the death of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Thursday.

"Consequent to the demise of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the process to form government had commenced and intimations were still awaited about the respective positions of two main parties," an official said. "Since it appears that the two parties are taking more time in forming government and naming a candidate for the post of chief minister, with the approval of the President of India, Governor's rule had been imposed in the region as per law."

A junior Indian minister Jitender Singh told reporters in New Delhi that Governor's rule has been imposed in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"For now Governor's rule has been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir," Singh said.

This is the seventh time that the region has come under Governor's rule.

Last year the Governor's rule was imposed as 2014 local elections threw a fractured mandate and no single party could claim the top post. However, the impasse ended after Sayeed's Peoples Democratic Party and rightwing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party forged a coalition.

Earlier it was said Sayeed's daughter Mehbooba Mufti was likely to be sworn in as next chief minister on Friday. However, reports said she has deferred the decision. She was still mourning the death of her father and was in no hurry to take over as the chief minister.

She is likely to take the decision following the four-day mourning ritual.

A separatist movement and guerilla war challenging New Delhi's rule is going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Endit