ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will chair a high-level meeting today, Monday, to discuss the precarious law-and-order situation in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported after last week’s clashes in the area left one cop dead, at least 90 injured.
Clashes erupted between police and supporters of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) rights organization in various parts of the territory on Saturday. Violence broke out when police tried to stop a JAAC rally from reaching Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabad from Poonch and Kotli districts. The protesters were demanding electricity as per the hydropower generation cost in Azad Kashmir and subsidized wheat flour.
The Himalayan territory of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both countries rule part of the territory, but claim it in full and have fought three wars over the disputed region. The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity, where the protesters have been calling for subsidy on wheat flour and electricity among other demands.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has convened a high-level meeting on Monday, which will discuss the ongoing situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” APP said in a report.
In a separate post on social media platform X, Sharif warned protesters against taking the law into their hands and damaging government buildings.
“I have spoken to PM AJK and also directed all PML-N office bearers in AJK to talk to the leaders of the action committee and I urge all parties to resort to peaceful course of action for resolution of their demands,” he wrote on Sunday.
Separately, President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday urged all stakeholders to exercise restraint and resolve the price hike issue in Azad Kashmir through “dialogue and mutual consultation,” Pakistani state media reported, amid protests in the territory for subsidized wheat flour and cheaper electricity.
The Pakistan president said this during his meeting with a delegation of members of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, who belonged to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
“The President said political parties, state institutions and the people of AJK should act responsibly so that hostile elements could not exploit the situation to their benefit,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The President highlighted that the demands of the people of AJK should be addressed as per law. He said that he would take up the grievances of the people of AJK with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to find a way out of the current situation.”
Pakistan last year narrowly avoided a default on the payment of foreign debts when the International Monetary Fund and several friendly nations came to its rescue by giving it loans.
Pakistan’s monthly inflation rate at one point reached over 40 percent, but authorities say it has come down to 17 percent ahead of talks with the IMF for a new bailout. Islamabad plans to get at least $6 billion from the lender when it reaches a deal expected in the coming months.