Pakistan PM approves $86m relief grant for Kashmir region after violent protests

Tariq Butt, Correspondent / Reuters

The premier chaired a special meeting in Islamabad, which was attended by AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, State President Barrister Sultan Mahmood, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) AJK chapter president Raja Farooq Haider, and some others, an official statement said.

Federal ministers and leaders of the coalition parties also took part in the meeting, where a detailed review of the situation was taken, it said, adding that AJK leaders and other participants appreciated PM Shahbaz for his decision.

A police official was killed and more than 90 people were injured when thousands of people clashed with police in the region over the weekend, said Shah Nawaz, a local government official. Most businesses and transport remained shut for the fifth consecutive day on Monday, he said.

An alliance of civil rights groups has been leading the campaign, demanding the government give the region a subsidy on electricity and wheat prices in the face of rising inflation. A statement from Shahbaz Sharif’s office did not clarify how the grant would be used. AJK’s PM Haq later said that the amount would help extend a subsidy to the region.

The subsidised rate for 40kgs of flour will be Rs2,000, down from Rs3,100, he said at a press conference telecast live by local TV channels. He also announced a substantial dip in the electricity prices as well. This was a permanent arrangement, he said.

The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has traders at the forefront in most parts of the State, has been seeking the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost in AJK, subsidised wheat flour and an end to the privileges of the elite class.

On May 9 and 10, around 70 activists were arrested by police in a bid to prevent a long march - announced by the 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.

Amid a crippling strike on Friday, fierce clashes between police and protesters were witnessed in different areas of Muzaffarabad. The next day, AJK witnessed violent clashes between the police and the activists amid a wheel-jam and shutter-down strike across the territory, leaving at least one police official dead and more than 90 others injured.

On Sunday, as a possible agreement between the JAAC and the AJK government had remained elusive, the situation initially remained calm but the protest movement resumed its march on Muzaffarabad.

The movement announced its march on the state capital after the talks between the JAAC core committee and AJK Chief Secretary Dawood Bareach in Rawalakot ended in a stalemate, prompting a protest leader from Rawalakot to accuse the government of resorting to evasive tactics.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and the prime minister had vowed to address the “genuine demands” of protesters, urging all stakeholders to exercise restraint and resolve the issues through dialogue.