India to register up to 2.5 million voters in contested Kashmir

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows residential houses in Srinagar, September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - India is expected to register as many as 2.5 million new voters in the contested Jammu and Kashmir region, a top official said late on Wednesday, in a move local political parties said was an attempt to influence upcoming elections.

The Muslim-majority region is claimed in full but ruled in part by nuclear arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who have fought two wars over control of the territory.