Protesters call off march in AJ&K after demands met

MUZAFFARABAD: An alliance of civil rights group on Tuesday called off a protest march in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K) after several days of clashes over high prices in which four people have been killed and over 100 injured, officials said.

Protesters called off the march a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a grant of Rs 24 billion ($86 million) to help meet most of their demands, which included subsidies on flour and electricity prices.

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The alliance’s head, Shaukat Nawaz Mir, announced the decision in Muzaffarabad, the capital city of the scenic Himalayan region.

“The government has accepted all of our demands,” he said, calling on protesters to return to their homes and businesses.

Mir also demanded the government give financial compensation for the families of three protesters and a police official who were killed in the violence.

The protesters were killed on Monday evening after paramilitary troops opened fire when they were attacked, said local government official Adnan Khurshid. The police official died in clashes over the weekend.

Kashmir’s Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Chaudhry said late on Monday that the funds would help lower some prices in the region.

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The subsidised rate for 40 kgs (88.2 lb) of flour will be Rs 2,000, down from Rs 3,100, he said. He also announced a substantial dip in the electricity prices.

The protests coincide with the visit of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to negotiate a new long-term loan with Islamabad.

The IMF has already warned that social tensions triggered by the high cost of living could weigh on policy implementation, adding that fiscal slippages could present a challenge for the government.