The fact that Kashmiris are turning out to vote does not mean that they have embraced Indian rule, as massive demonstrations this summer have shown, according to a report in the New York Times on Saturday.

The report says that Kashmiris continue to chafe under the restrictions of the Indian security forces, and are voting to demand ordinary things: roads, electricity and jobs.

Overall turnout figures have soared above 60 percent and, by Kashmiri standards, the voting has been notably free of violence and coercion. This time, 'freedom fighters' -- in what apparently was a concession to Kashmiri fatigue -- did not threaten those who took part in the vote. "The main problem here is unemployment," said 18-year-old Shafqat Shabir, a first-time voter, on the day he cast his ballot. He and his friends had taken part in anti-Indian demonstrations, shouting 'Azadi' or freedom from Indian rule, which Afaq Hussain Mir said is 'our birthright'.

The report says that as India-Pakistan peace talks progressed in recent years, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba sharply decreased its attacks in Kashmir. At the same time, it moved on to bigger, higher-profile targets across India. Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, who once served as a Lashkar commander in Indian-held Kashmir, lost his son in an encounter with Indian forces.

When Lashkar fighters first came to the valley, residents bought provisions for them, and Lashkar cadres were well-behaved guests. They did not interfere in village disputes, as members of some of the other guerrilla groups did, they did not harass women. They never ordered the men and women of one particular village named Bothoo to stop praying at the shrine of a female Sufi saint, as other 'radical Islamist groups' did. As the Lashkar established itself there, Indian security forces fought back, turning this remote village into a war zone. Women lost their husbands. Men lost limbs. For years, no one was safe.

Many people still fear that without a political solution soon to the conflict, Kashmiris, especially the young, would grow impatient and support an insurgency once again. The village has been quiet lately, but the Lashkar fighters still come to the woods, villagers say. They carry satellite phones and are never without a full magazine of ammunition. They are fearless to the point of recklessness. "The problem will not go away," said villager Manzoor Reshi. "Unless there is a political solution, it will diminish; it will not go away."