Occupied Kashmir's main city got its first-ever mayor on Monday, a month after the frontrunner for the post was assassinated by alleged Mujahideen. Lawyer-turned-politician Ghulam Mustafa Bhat was elected by fellow councillors as the first mayor of Srinagar, where freedom movement against New Delhi's occupation has raged for 15 years. "It's an enormous task. I'll strive for development," Bhat said after taking office at the tightly guarded municipal headquarters.
His election came after alleged Mujahideen gunned down the man widely tipped to become mayor, Mohammed Maqbool Shah, last month. The popular 72-year-old cleric known for his pacifist leanings was slain as he emerged from a mosque. The election of Bhat, a member of main opposition National Conference Party, followed the first civic polls in occupied Kashmir in over a quarter of a century, which were held in February.
Srinagar, which has one million people, never had a mayor before because its population was considered too small.
Meanwhile, Indian troops on Monday shot dead six Mujahideen during an encounter in violence-racked Kupwara district, occupation army spokesman R.K. Sen said. He added the gun battle started after the soldiers closed in the Mujahideen's hideout in Lolab area of Kupwara, 100 kilometres north-west of Srinagar.
"It was a big hide-out and troops recovered large cache of arms and ammunition from there. We did not suffer any casualties," Sen said.
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