The former state of Jammu and Kashmir - now divided into two federally administered territories - is holding its first assembly election in a decade. The third and last phase of voting is on Tuesday and results will be declared on 8 October.

SRINAGAR, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Foreign diplomats from 15 countries were allowed to observe local elections in India's Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, as New Delhi highlighted the first vote in the disputed Himalayan territory in a decade.

In Kashmir, this election has witnessed a flurry of innovative slogans in native language and cultural symbolism. However, what has generated more interest, and even ridicule, is the use of Kashmiri language by prominent candidates like Omar Abdullah and Iltija Mufti,