Written by Tariq Maqbool
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) – A coalition of civil rights groups protested on Tuesday after days of clashes over high prices in Pakistan-administered Kashmir left four people dead and more than 100 injured. Officials announced that the march had been cancelled.
The protesters called off the march the next day. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif It approved 24 billion rupees ($86 million) in subsidies to meet most of the needs, including subsidies for flour and electricity.
Shaukat Nawaz Mir, head of the alliance, announced the decision in Muzaffarabad, the capital of the picturesque Himalayan region.
“The government has accepted all our demands,” he said, calling on protesters to return to their homes and workplaces.
Mir also called on the government to provide financial compensation to the families of three protesters and a police officer killed in the riot.
Adnan Khurshid, a local government official, said the protesters were killed by gunfire during a militia attack on Monday night. A police officer was killed in a crash over the weekend.
Kashmir’s Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Chaudhry said late Monday that the fund would help bring down prices in parts of the region.
He said the subsidy for 40 kg (88.2 pounds) of flour would range from 3,100 rupees to 2,000 rupees. He also announced a significant drop in electricity prices.
The protests coincided with a visit by an International Monetary Fund delegation to negotiate a new long-term loan with Islamabad.
The IMF has already warned that social tensions caused by rising living costs could weigh on policy implementation, adding that fiscal deficits could pose a challenge for governments.
(Reporting by Tariq Maqbool in Muzaffarabad; Writing by Asif Shahzad)
