On Monday, in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the situation remained tense as the total strike against high prices of wheat flour and inflated electricity bills and taxes entered its fourth day. Since Friday, a complete strike has been observed in the region, bringing life to a halt.
On Saturday, the PoK region witnessed clashes between cops and activists of a rights movement, leaving at least one police official dead and injuring over 100 people, mostly policemen. The fierce protesters vandalized multiple vehicles, including a magistrate’s car on the Poonch-Kotli road. Moreover, markets, trade centres, offices, schools, and restaurants remained shut across the area.
After the violence, cops launched a crackdown against the protesters, arresting dozens of individuals in Muzaffarabad. A day earlier, the government stopped mobile phone and internet services in different parts of the PoK.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has been seeking the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost in the region, subsidised wheat flour, and an end to the benefits of the elite class. The organisation has traders at the forefront in most parts of the region.
On Monday, as the strike entered its fourth day, a long march led by the JAAC left for Muzaffarabad, the capital of PoK.
PM Shehbaz Sharif allocates Rs 23 billion grant to suppress protests
On Monday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved Rs 23 billion for immediate release to the region after the negotiations between the protesters and the regional government ended in a deadlock. He said he was “deeply concerned” about the situation.