In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Gilani and Democratic Freedom Party chief Shabbir Ahmad Shah, have been put under house arrest.
According to Kashmir Media Service, they have been confined to their houses to prevent them from organising large-scale protests against the third phase of Indian Lok Sabha farcical elections, being held today in Islamabad and Pulwama districts.
Meanwhile, nine people were injured in attacks on eight polling stations last night ahead of the sham polls.
A grenade was lobbed at a polling booth in the village of Sarnal, injuring three polling officials and five members of the paramilitary forces.
Another paramilitary official was injured when they were fired on a voting station in the village of Sijbehara.
Six other polling stations had been attacked but no other casualties were reported.
AFP reported that polling stations in Islamabad, 30 kilometers (31 miles) south of occupied Srinagar, were deserted when the third round of the Indian parliamentary vote in the territory got under way at 7:00 am on Wednesday.
Federal paramilitary forces and local police have been deployed around all the 1,176 voting centers in the constituency. Kashmir has six seats in India's federal parliament, with voting staggered over four rounds ending May 10.
CRPF and BSF together have nearly 33,300 personnel for the lone seat of Islamabad. Ruling PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti is in fray against CPI(M) leader Yousuf Tarigami in Islamabad, where all but five of the 1049 polling booths have been declared sensitive or super-sensitive.