India's ruling party and regional party agree to form coalition government in Kashmir

FILE - In this Monday, June 16, 2014 file photo, demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State group slogans as they wave the group's flags in front of the provincial government headquarters in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. Islamic State militants have abducted at least 70 Assyrian Christians, including women and children, after overrunning a string of villages in northeastern Syria, two activist groups said Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. (AP Photo, File) (The Associated Press)

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, right, addresses the media after a meeting with Kashmir’s regional Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti, second left in blue, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. The BJP and the PDP Tuesday finalized an agreement to form a coalition government in Kashmir, the first time the Hindu nationalist party will share a leadership position in the predominantly Muslim region. (AP Photo / Manish Swarup) (The Associated Press)

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party says it will be part of a coalition government in Kashmir, the first time the Hindu nationalist party will share a leadership position in the predominantly Muslim region.

The BJP and the regional Peoples' Democratic Party finalized an agreement to form the coalition government at a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday after two months of negotiations.

BJP President Amit Shah said the two parties have resolved most of their differences and agreed on a common program that will be announced in the next few days when Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets regional leaders.

No party won a clear majority in elections in December for Kashmir's 87-seat assembly. The BJP won 25 seats while the PDP received 28 seats.