Muzaffarabad / Islamabad:
At least nine people, including three police officers, were killed after violence broke out in Azad Jammu-et-Cachemire (AJK) on the third day of a general strike called by the joint Awami action committee (JAAC) for reforms and public facilities in the region, officials announced on Wednesday.
According to the media, companies and other activities have remained closed at the AJK due to the strike in the middle of a communication failure, while incidents of violence took place in Dhir Kot and in other fields. The AJK government said 172 police officers and 50 civilians were also injured in the clashes.
The AJK government said in a statement that the authorities were trying to restore order and urged the public not to be misleading by what they described as propaganda and “false news” circulating on social networks under a “specific program”.
Led by the central chief of Jaac, Shaukat Nawaz Mir, the strike brought Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Poonch, Neelum, Bhimber and Palandri to the stop. The markets were closed, the roads were blocked and the Internet services were limited in a large part of Muzaffarabad, except in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa areas.
According to information, three police officers were killed and nine others injured in an attack by armed men belonging to the JAAC in Dhir Kot. The martyr police were identified as the gendarme Khurshid and the gendarme Jameel, both from Bagh, and the gendarme Tahir Rafi of Muzaffarabad.
The JAAC, which organized the strike and the demonstrations, posed a vast charter of requests, in particular the end of the privileges enjoyed by the elite in power, the abolition of 12 assembly seats reserved for refugees and the suppression of the quota system.
The other requests from the Committee include free and uniform education in the territory, free health establishments, reforms in the judicial framework of the AJK and the creation of an international airport.
The officials noted that the Pakistani government and the AJK government had already accepted the majority of JAAC requests during the previous negotiation cycles. However, the talks finally collapsed when the agreement could not be joined on a few remaining questions.
This prompted the JAAC to ask for demonstrations and a strike, which entered its third consecutive day on Wednesday. Commercial activity through the AJK remains seriously disturbed, while all the entry points connecting cashmere to Pakistan have been sealed by the demonstrators.
The reports of various cities indicate sporadic but intense clashes between the demonstrators and the police, the demonstrations often becoming violent. Officials said that in several incidents, demonstrators opened fire on police staff.
Residents have described the closed markets, deserted roads and a tense atmosphere through Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot and other key cities. Commercial activity stops, further aggravating economic difficulties in the region.
In the midst of increasing tensions, the Prime Minister of AJK, Chaudhry Anwarul Haq, extended an open invitation to the management of JAAC for renewed talks. He said JAAC initially announced peaceful demonstrations, but the situation had since “taken a dangerous turn”.
“Three police officers were martyred and 10 others injured due to layoffs by violent demonstrators,” Haq told journalists at a joint press conference alongside the Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry in Islamabad.
“It is also obvious that the demonstrators outside the AJK joined the bustle. If this had been confined to our own people, perhaps things would not have increased so far,” he said. “I call the [JAAC] Leadership to come forward for dialogue. Violence will only bring blood effusions, not solutions. “”
Chaudhry stressed that the government was ready to accept the “legitimate demands” of the demonstrators. He added that in September, 90% of JAAC requests had already been agreed, but the committee has always used the agitation.
Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry echoes these feelings. He confirmed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has mandated him, as well as the Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Engr Amir Muqam, to engage directly with Jaac leaders in Muzaffarabad.
He said only two problems were not resolved – the abolition of the seats of the Refugee Assembly and a reduction in the number of ministers – which required constitutional amendments and could not be implemented immediately.
Prime Minister Haq expressed sorrow for loss of life, saying: “Providing people through civilian groups only leads to anarchy and unnecessary tragedy. Taking a life is like taking the life of all humanity. We must avoid a path that brings more blood out.”
According to the AJK government statement, 172 police officers were injured during the current violent demonstrations, including 12 in a critical manner, while 50 civilians were also injured. He called on the public to abstain from violence.
(With News Desk entry)
