In Rawalakot, the Jammu Kashmir Awami Action Committee has dismissed the Azad Kashmir government’s proposal of a 50% reduction in electricity prices per unit. Instead, they are demanding power at the cost of hydropower generation, reported on Sunday.
Sources have revealed that the government proposed a 50% reduction in electricity prices per unit, an offer rejected by the Kashmir action committee. The committee insists that electricity should be priced according to the production cost of hydropower in AJK.
In addition, the government is considering providing subsidies on flour prices. However, the Public Action Committee has announced a long march from Rawalakot to Muzaffarabad, rejecting the government’s position on the matter. Protesters will spend the night in Kotli during the march. In a statement, committee member Umar Nazeer expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s response to their demands.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government had accepted all demands of the Joint Awami Action Committee following negotiations between a JAAC delegation and the territory’s Chief Secretary at the residence of the Rawalakot Commissioner.
Sources have claimed that the government has also agreed to the committee’s demand for subsidies on flour and to revoke the increase in electricity bills.
Violent clashes between police and activists of a rights movement erupted in Azad Kashmir during a wheel-jam and shutter-down strike across the territory. The clashes resulted in at least one police official being killed and several others injured.
Sub-inspector Adnan Qureshi was fatally shot in the chest in Islamgarh while attempting to halt a rally for Muzaffarabad organized by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee.
The JAAC, which has traders leading the movement in most parts of the state, has been advocating for electricity to be priced according to hydropower generation costs in AJK, subsidized wheat flour, and an end to privileges for the elite class.
The violent protesters damaged multiple vehicles, including a magistrate’s car, on the Poonch-Kotli road. Additionally, markets, trade centers, offices, schools, and restaurants remained closed across AJK.
