This threat was made good during the elections, especially inthe third stage where the state witnessedseveral attacks by militant groups. More moderate groups, most notably the 23-party All Parties HurriyatConference (APHC), refused to participate in the pollsbecause they questioned the fairness of the process and the refusal of the Indian government, in their eyes, to makemore significant concessions on the futurestatus of the state. interests in the region. The Indian National Congress won 20 seats, and party leader Sonia Gandhi agreed to a first-ever power-sharingarrangement with the regional People'sDemocratic Party (PDP), itself the winner of 16 seats, all of them from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. The Congress-PDP coalition has agreed to a "common minimum program" (CMP) for the governance of Jammu and Kashmir. (16)
From a political perspective, the elections strengthened somewhat the Indian government's position on Kashmir. Congressional Interest

The United States welcomed the successful conclusion of elections in Jammu and Kashmir while condemning terrorist attacks "aimed at disrupting ademocratic process and intimidating the Kashmiri people." It urged India and Pakistan to make a "strenuous effort"to resume a dialogue on all outstandingissues, including Kashmir. (17)
Given New Delhi's insistence that such dialogue cannot begin until Islamabad halts the infiltration of militants into Jammu and Kashmir, it is the continuationof separatist violence in the state that appears to be the core obstacle to diplomatic progress between India andPakistan.
The United States welcomed the successful October conclusion of 2002 elections inthe Indian state of Jammu andKashmir, where nearly half of the electorate cast ballots. The elections resulted in the ousting of the long-dominantNational Conference party, allies of thenational coalition-leading Bharatiya Janata Party, thus bolstering the credibility of the process and dampeningcriticism from some quarters that the electionswere flawed or "farcical." The opposition Indian National Congress and the regional People's Democratic Party(PDP) won a combined 36 seats in the stateassembly, and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi agreed to a first-ever power-sharing coalition. PDP leader MuftiMohammed Sayeed has assumed the office ofChief Minister vowing to bring a "healing touch" to state politics. His "common minimum program" includescontroversial policies -- including the freeing ofjailed political prisoners -- that have been lauded by some and criticized by others. The new government's seemingmoderation has brought renewed hopes forpeace in the troubled region.
The United States had urged the holding of free and fair elections to be followed by renewed dialogue betweenIndia and Pakistan to resolve their long-runningdispute. India has made clear that it will not engage such dialogue until Islamabad has put an end to cross-borderinfiltration of Islamic militants intoIndian-held Kashmir. Following the elections, New Delhi announced a major troop redeployment after a tenseten-month standoff at the India-Pakistan frontier. Militant separatist groups in both Pakistan and Kashmir have stated that the ground realities are unchanged and sotheir violent campaign will continue. Inapparent confirmation of these statements, numerous coordinated attacks in November 2002 killed dozens. Thisreport will not be updated. (1)