Protests erupt in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir over inflation and other economic hardships

In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), tensions flared on Friday (May 10) as locals protested against harsh economic conditions and taxes imposed by Pakistan.

The protests as per news agency ANI were met with severe suppression by Pakistani defence forces. 

Protests against inflation

The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) had called for protests on May 11, yet residents in various cities including Muzafarabad, Kotli, Dadayal, Rawalakot, Hajira, Bhimbar, and Bagh took to the streets a day earlier. 

Police, as per the Dawn also fired tear-gas shells at the protesting crowd. Some shells landed in a nearby school, injuring young girls.

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This happened as the Pakistani administration deployed additional forces to crush the planned protests and a long march, announced by the Jammu and Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee. The arrest of 70 activists also angered people, media reports suggest, leading to protests a day earlier.

Inflation, the scarcity of essential commodities like flour and wheat, excessive power cuts, rising unemployment, and chronic infrastructural neglect sparked the protests. Despite longstanding grievances, demonstrators argue that the Pakistani administration remains dismissive of their plight.

Pakistan's violence against the people

A local leader during a protest voiced the community's frustration, condemning the aggressive tactics used by law enforcement. "The level of violence that the law enforcement agencies have employed in PoK is unacceptable and we are protesting here for the same. But we will always continue our protest peacefully, as we are peace-loving people," the leader stated.

"We peacefully are demanding our basic rights, like subsidies on flour and wheat. However, the protests suppressed by the Pakistani defence personnel resulted in shelling and baton charges. This led to several protestors getting severely injured and harassment of the local people," they added.

In Bagh, another leader criticised the government's decision to deploy defence forces to stifle the protests, leading to a forceful reaction from the community including a long march. 

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"The administration of PoJK demanded the deployment of defence personnel to suppress the protest being organised by the general public for resolution of their issues. The people of Bagh retaliated against this act of suppression and organised a long march against it. We express our solidarity with the protest invoked by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) on May 11. We will protest peacefully but the use of defence personnel for suppression is unacceptable."

Prominent Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir highlighted the severity of the protests on X (formerly Twitter), noting that thousands had defied the colonial-era black law, Section 144, to demand tax-free electricity from Mangla Dam and subsidies on wheat flour. 

"This is Muzaffarabad today. Thousands of Kashmiris violated the old colonial black law section 144. They came out from their homes on feet. No transport was used due to the wheel jam strike. They are demanding tax-free electricity from Mangla dam and subsidy on wheat flour" Mir posted.

Earlier, the situation escalated when the Frontier Corps deployed hundreds of troops to PoK, leading to violent clashes that saw 18 protestors detained and several instances of violence, including an attack on the Assistant Commissioner of the Dadyal area. Additionally, a shutter down strike was initiated by local leader Shaukat Nawaz Mir of the JAAC, signifying a further intensification of the civil unrest.

(With inputs from agencies)