Pakistani social media is rife with pictures and videos of protests and police action against protesters coming from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the part of Kashmir under the administrative control of Pakistan.
Reports suggest that protests against the “unjust taxes” levied on electricity bills have spread out of Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK.
On Friday, police detained 70 protesters in a bid to prevent a ‘long march’ announced by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee. The long march was aimed at pushing the government to comply with an agreement reached between the two sides in February this year.
In Dadyal Tehsil of Mirpur District, deployment of additional forces and arrest of 70 protesters ahead of Saturday’s protest angered people and they took to the streets on Friday. The protestors pelted the security personnel with stones and clashed with them.
آزاد کمشیر میں صورتحال گمبیر۔۔۔
بجلی کے معاملے ہر احتجاج نظفرآباد سے باہر پورے کشمیر میں پھیل گیا۔۔۔۔مختلف اضلاع میں ہنگامے اور گرفتاریاں۔ pic.twitter.com/FZh9MWAISM— Qamber Zaidi (@qamberzaidii) May 11, 2024
Protests continued on Saturday.
#LongMarch from #Mirpur to #Muzaffarabad called by Jammu #Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee faces roadblocks as police obstruct route. Violent clashes persist in Muzaffarabad for the 2nd day amid protests against unjust electricity bills and inflation. pic.twitter.com/QHNMzj2qbb
— Ghulam Abbas Shah (@ghulamabbasshah) May 11, 2024
In Mirpur, reports suggested that police sub-inspector Adnan Qureshi was killed in a firing incident.