Muzaffarabad unrest: 3 killed in PoK as strike enters 5th day, Govt allocates aid
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Muzaffarabad, May 14: Amid the unrest in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, at least three people were killed and six others injured in clashes with security forces in PoK on May 14. Paramilitary rangers opened fire on protesters during clashes after protests were held against high prices of wheat flour and inflated electricity bills.
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has remained tense as the strike against high prices of wheat flour and inflated electricity bills and taxes entered its fifth day on Tuesday, forcing the Pakistan government to allocate 23 billion Pakistani rupees (PKR) for immediate release to the region to quell the simmering unrest.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved ₹23 billion for immediate release to the region after the negotiations between the protesters and the regional government ended in a deadlock.
In light of the protests, government offices and educational institutions remained closed on Monday. The markets, trade centres, offices, schools, and restaurants remained closed across the region, according to media reports.
On May 9 and May 10, around 70 activists were arrested by the police in a bid to prevent a long march - announced by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) to press the government to comply with an agreement reached between the two in February this year - triggering serious clashes in Dadyal and a “shutter-down strike" call.
Azadi slogans at midnight in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) against the oppressive Pakistan state. Pakistani security forces today killed several Kashmiris in Muzaffarabad and critically injured many others. Massive protests underway in POK. pic.twitter.com/vAz04F1vOg
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 13, 2024
Last Saturday, the violent protesters damaged multiple vehicles, including a magistrate’s car on the Poonch-Kotli road. Police launched a crackdown against the protesters after the violence, arresting dozens of individuals in Muzaffarabad.
A day earlier, on Friday, the government had suspended mobile phone and internet services in different parts of the region.
The strike, called by the JAAC, has been seeking the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost in the region, subsidised wheat flour, and an end to the privileges of the elite class. The residents have been advocating for affordable electricity and flour subsidies for the past few days.