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- May 13, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif authorized on Monday the immediate transfer of Rs23 billion to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) following recent protests and skirmishes in the area. Under the leadership of traders in most regions of the state, the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) has been pushing for the provision of subsidized wheat flour, an end to the privileges of the elite class, and energy based on the cost of hydropower generation in AJK. A “shutter-down strike” call and serious skirmishes in Dadyal were sparked by the arrest of some 70 activists by police on May 9 and 10, in an attempt to stop a long march that the JAAC had organized to pressure the government to follow an agreement signed between the two in February of this year.
In many parts of Muzaffarabad, there were intense altercations between demonstrators and police on Friday during a debilitating strike. Over 90 people were injured and one police official was killed in the violent skirmishes between the police and the protestors that took place in AJK the following day, which coincided with a wheel-jam and shutter-down strike throughout the region. The protest movement began its march on Muzaffarabad on Sunday, even though a potential compromise between the AJK government and the JAAC had remained elusive. Following a deadlock in negotiations between the AJK Chief Secretary Dawood Bareach and the JAAC core committee in Rawalakot, the movement declared its intention to march on the state capital. This led a Rawalakot protest leader to accuse the government of using deceptive methods.
In the meantime, PM Shehbaz and President Asif Ali Zardari urged all parties to use moderation and engage in constructive discourse to meet the demonstrators’ “genuine demands.” Government buildings and educational institutions were to be closed today due to the protests. According to a statement from the PM’s Office (PMO), local ministers, senior political figures, and AJK PM Chaudhry Anwarul Haq attended a special meeting that Prime Minister Sharif chaired today in Islamabad. It further stated that a thorough assessment of the situation was conducted during the meeting, which was attended by federal ministries and coalition party leaders. The PMO stated that AJK leaders and all attendees were grateful to PM Shehbaz for his choice.