In its editorial, on the Congress and Kashmiri leadership, the bilingual Alsafa (16 May 2004) commented on the Hurriyat Conference’s (Abbas Group) optimistic approach towards the new government at the center. "Hurriyat Conference (Abbas Group) has expressed hope that the newly elected Congress government would make efforts to reinforce relations with Pakistan leading to the resolution of various issues between the two countries.” It continued, "Doubts are being raised that the defeat of the NDA in the parliamentary elections would put the course of Hurriyat-Center dialogue into jeopardy but Hurriyat (Abbas) is optimistic that the Congress government would continue the dialogue process."

 The editorial, "A healing touch of democracy" of the weekly Chattan (17-23 May 2004) commented on the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections. "In every part of the country, a changed atmosphere is prevailing. The seven-year-old Vajpayee government was knocked down. Hindutva Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, Foreign Minister, Yashwant Sinha, senior BJP ministers, Ram Naik, Sahib Singh Verma and the like are hanging in the air. All this confirms the defeat of a political rule." It continued, "Hate for Union Minister, Jagmohan in the hearts of Kashmiris is legitimate. This man (Jagmohan) during his tenure did everything to destroy the very nature of Kashmir. Dozens of innocent people were killed in just a day in Zakoora, Tengpora and Gow Kadal. At the same time, Kashmiri Pandits were moved out from the valley overnight. This is not all; during Jagmohan’s term, bullets were sprayed into the corpse of eminent leader Maulana Farooq. But nevertheless, democracy brings an end to aggression and all that. One stroke of democracy saw leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K Advani falling on the ground”, concluded the editorial.

Aftab (18 May 2004) in its editorial "No option other than dialogue" observed, "It appears that US does not like this change of government too much. But still, the US and Europe cautiously welcoming the formation of new government have impressed upon India and Pakistan to intensify efforts to resolve all bilateral issues including Kashmir. This indicates that the new government at center views the relations with Pakistan important than anything else. And meaningful dialogue on Kashmir is the only option available to resolve the dispute”.

In its editorial, "Destroyers of democracy in Kashmir" Aftab (13 May 2004) observed that people in Kashmir have lost faith in democracy due the autocratic rule of National Conference (NC). "In Kashmir, NC has sown such a seed of democracy that people of the valley have lost faith in it. Since 1947, valley people continue to question the credibility of elections… people have every right to lose faith in democracy." It continued, "The NC has also transformed democracy into dynastic rule where a father leaves the chair for his son and the process goes on. Mufti too seems to be following the trend. He has asked the people to accept his daughter as a leader."

Srinagar Times (2 May 2004) in its editorial, "Propaganda and derogatory language" commented on the use of derogatory language by the NC and the PDP against each other. "Propaganda by political parties during election campaigning is something legitimate but use of derogatory language is against all moral principles and is loathed by one and all. When the NC says something unpleasant against PDP President Mehbboba Mufti, not only PDP party workers but also every human being would condemn it strongly. Similar is the case when the PDP President says something against NC." It opined, "it is advisable for both the parties not to invite added loathing of the people by indulging in such cheap tactics. By doing so they only expose their immoral side."

Srinagar Times (30 May 2004) gave prominence to Home Minister Shivraj Patil’s statement in its lead news. Patil said the Kashmir issue would be dealt by the Government of India and all bilateral issues between India and Pakistan would be resolved through peaceful means. He added that the Kashmir issue was to be dealt by the Government at the center and of course, the PM would be in command. Besides the home, foreign, and defence ministries, political groups would also be involved in it.