Muzaffarabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sanctioned a grant of 24 billion rupees ($86.25 million) for Pakistan-administered Kashmir (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir or POK ) in response to the recent surge of protests fueled by economic grievances. The announcement comes in the wake of several days of violent demonstrations sparked by rising inflation in the region.
According to Shah Nawaz, a local government official, the unrest resulted in the death of a police officer and left over 90 individuals injured during clashes between law enforcement and thousands of demonstrators over the weekend. Business operations and transportation services remained paralyzed for the fifth consecutive day on Monday as the protests persisted.
A coalition of civil rights organizations has spearheaded the movement, demanding governmental intervention to alleviate the economic strain by subsidizing electricity and wheat prices. However, the statement from Prime Minister Sharif’s office did not provide specifics on how the allocated grant would be utilized to address these concerns.
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The timing of the protests coincides with the arrival of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Islamabad to negotiate a new long-term loan agreement. The IMF had previously cautioned about significant downside risks to the Pakistani economy. Despite a slight decrease to 17.3% in April, inflation remains a pressing issue, having spiked to as high as 38% in May of the preceding year.
Demonstrators, who initially convened on Thursday, have reassembled in Dhirkot town, located in Poonch district, since Sunday evening, according to Deputy Inspector General of Police Shehryar Sikandar. The town, situated approximately 80 km (50 miles) south of Muzaffarabad, the capital of the region, serves as a focal point for the protests, with threats of advancing towards Muzaffarabad if their demands are unmet.
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“They are in thousands,” Sikandar informed, as reported by the international news agency Reuters. “We are merely monitoring the situation and have no intention of engaging in direct confrontation.”
Shaukat Nawaz Mir, a prominent figure within the alliance, attributed the outbreak of clashes to the police’s use of force against peaceful demonstrators, echoing widespread grievances among the populace.
