NEW DELHI, Sept 13: In a move that comes close to a hands-on foreign involvement in Kashmir, although India denies that this is so, important embassies in the capital have dispatched diplomats to Kashmir to observe the controversial polls starting there on Sept 16, diplomats and reports said on Friday.

Western diplomats told Dawn that several of them, including representatives from the United States, Britain and Canada, would be in Srinagar on Saturday to monitor the polls there.

The polls have attracted considerable international interest despite the opposition of the India-backed election by Kashmir’s All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC).

“This is an opportunity to really understand the options that are available to the Kashmiri people, of their intentions and responses to what could be a way forward,” one diplomat said. “We are not saying that these elections will bring peace in Kashmir, but they could signal the direction.”

The diplomats’ assignment has been eased somewhat by the Indian Election Commission’s decision to give them complete access to the election booths during the four-stage polls. On the other hand, the job ahead is complicated too, diplomats said.

Of the 3,397 polling booths in the Kashmir valley are either hyper-sensitive or sensitive and none of them fall in the normal category.

“There is not a single polling booth in Kashmir valley which is normal. They either fall in the category of hyper-sensitive or sensitive,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying in Srinagar.

Besides, the 60,000-strong state police, who were mainly looking after the election process except the skeleton staff at police stations and important establishments in the state, the state has also received hundreds of companies of para-military forces.

“Manning of 3,397 hyper-sensitive and sensitive polling booths in 2,866 locations is not easy, but this time we have received the assistance well in time from other security agencies,” the officer said, adding, “we have taken adequate security measures to check the incidents of violence”.

Along with the United States, diplomats from Britain, the European Commission, Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxemberg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland have been given access to the poll booths.

In Kashmir valley, 16 diplomats would witness the first phase of polling on Sept 16, eleven diplomats in the second phase on Sept 24, twelve in the third phase on Oct 1, and 2 in the fourth phase on Oct 8.

India has rejected the demand for international observers but said representatives from various embassies based in the country were free to come and see the whole election process including the vote counting process. Any certificate from them would however not be welcome, India says.

An unprecedented 400 journalists including a large chunk of foreign media personnel are covering the polls in the state, reports said.