PM Sharif to meet officials in Azad Kashmir today following deadly protests in region

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a daylong visit to Azad Kashmir on Thursday where he will interact with officials and visit the site of a hydropower project, just a few days after a massive public protest in the region resulted in at least four fatalities.
The unprecedented protests against price hikes broke out last Friday and spread across the semi-autonomous Himalayan territory under Pakistan’s administration.
One police officer was killed in the clashes while three protesters lost their lives in clashes taking place in different parts of the region.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which organized the demonstrations, announced to end its protest on Tuesday after the Sharif administration approved $82 million in subsidies to provide relief to people who objected to the increase in flour prices and electricity tariffs.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will arrive in Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir today for a one-day visit,” his office announced in a statement circulated in the morning. “A meeting will take place between the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq.”
Sharif will also address the cabinet of the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir that will be broadcast by the state-owned news channel.
He will also meet with the leaders of the Kashmiri freedom movement.
“The Prime Minister will visit the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project where he will be briefed,” the statement added.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, with both countries ruling part of the territory, but claiming it in full.
Pakistan has frequently criticized New Delhi for mismanaging the portion of Kashmir under its rule, accusing it of rights violations while using its forces to suppress people and their aspirations.