MUZAFFARABAD: After the paramilitary Rangers in Muzaffarabad on Monday opened fire and dropped tear gas, three people were shot dead and six others were injured, the government’s decision to provide a Rs23 billion subsidy to quell violent protests in Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) failed to calm the area.
Prior to the unrest, AJK PM Anwarul Haq and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met and decided to give Rs23 billion for AJK in exchange for wheat and power subsidies.
For 40 kg of flour, the subsidised pricing will drop from Rs3,100 to Rs2,000. It was decided to lower the electricity tariff to Rs3, Rs5, and Rs6 per unit for the first 100, 300, and over 300 units, respectively. To the delight of the demonstrators, the AJK government also released notifications to this effect.
Following the PM’s statement, Rangers—called in to uphold law and order in the state—were expected to return to Pakistani territory. They made the decision to leave the area via Kohala rather than via Brarkot, the village that borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. When the convoy of 19 vehicles—including five trucks—arrived in Muzaffarabad amid a “charged atmosphere,” they were attacked with rocks close to Shorran da Nakka hamlet. The police replied by firing tear gas and using tear gas.
Dawn was able to confirm a social media film depicting three burning Rangers trucks on the Muzaffarabad-Brarkot road.
The Rangers were met with rocks once more when they entered the city via the Western Bypass, which prompted them to use tear gas and gunshots. The neighborhood as a whole shook from the severe shelling.
shelling with tear gas
This correspondent witnessed two elders from the area approaching the Rangers and leading them down a connecting road to safety. Witnesses, however, said that the Rangers had used tear gas.
Before the administration drove their cars to escape, there was additional airstrikes and shelling in another region.
Divisional Commissioner Muzaffarabad Sardar Adnan Khurshid informed Dawn that six more people had been injured and at least three people had died as a result of Rangers’ gunfire. The commissioner named the deceased as Waqar, son of Babu from Dara Batangi; Azhar, son of Majeed from the Chehla Bandi areas of Muzaffarabad; and Saqib, son of Shabir from Plate.
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had ordered the demonstrators to continue their march on the state capital following the collapse of the discussions on Sunday night.
The government spoke with the leaders of the protests at Dhirkot, which is around 80 kilometers from the capital, on Monday till the end of the PM Shehbaz-called meeting in Islamabad.
Following the government’s announcement of the subsidies, the movement leaders declared that they will make a decision following the issuing of notifications.
Afterwards, a notification was released by the AJK food department, increasing the cost of flour/40 kg to Rs 2,100 and electricity to Rs 3, Rs 5, and Rs 6 per unit for up to 100, 300, and more than 300 units, respectively.
As soon as the announcements became viral on social media, plans were made to celebrate the triumph and welcome the JAAC leaders to Muzaffarabad.
Witnesses said that during certain protests at Chattar Chowk, the police had to use tear gas shells to disperse the demonstrators.
circumspect JAAC leaders
One of the important JAAC leaders, Shaukat Nawaz Mir, stated that their legal team will “legally examine” the notices that the government had sent out during an evening speech to a crowd gathered in an open area near Eidgah.
“We, the members of the joint action committee, will unanimously decide our next course of action tonight if these notifications do not fulfil legal requirements in accordance with our charter of demand,” he declared.
He claimed that they could scarcely believe the conduct of the AJK government because it had previously shown them a “non-serious and irresponsible” attitude. Witnesses reported that even after 9:30 p.m., troops from the Poonch division continued to arrive.
However, the relatives of two of the victims of the violence had brought their bodies to the area next to Eidgah, where protests against the state and the civil defense forces were audible.
Anger and stress are palpable, according to Adil Hameed, a resident of Muzaffarabad’s old city. People in other AJK towns said that they have organized protests to voice their outrage and fury over the killings in Muzaffarabad.
The news conference for AJK PM
Prior to this, AJK PM Chaudhry Anwarul Haq thanked PM Shehbaz at a news conference in Islamabad for the Rs23 billion emergency relief package. These two long-standing problems had anything to do with the federal government. He added that the assistance would be included in the upcoming budget. “And on the instructions of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, these have been resolved in minutes for which I am grateful,” he said.
