AJK govt approves reduction in electricity, flour prices after violent protests

RAWALAKOT: The Azad Kashmir (AJK) government has approved a reduction in the prices of electricity and flour after violent protests in the valley, ARY News reported.

As per details, the AJK government approved the demands of Jammu Kashmir Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and reduced the prices of electricity and flour.

According to a notification issued in Rawalakot, the price of wheat flour has been reduced by Rs 1100 per 40 kg bag, from Rs 3100 to Rs 2000.

Additionally, the government has also approved a reduction in electricity prices.

As per the notification, domestic consumers using up to 100 units will be charged Rs 3 per unit, while those using 101-300 units will be charged Rs 5 per unit. Consumers using more than 300 units will be charged Rs 6 per unit.

Industrial consumers using up to 300 units will be charged Rs 10 per unit, while those using more than 300 units will be charged Rs 15 per unit.

PM AJK Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq

Addressing a press conference, Prime Minister Azad Kashmir, Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq, said that PM Shehbaz assured him during a telephonic conversation last night about the flour crisis in the region within 24 hours.

The Prime Minister expressed his awareness of the current situation and said that the elected and democratic government of Azad Kashmir understands the public mandate.

He clarified that the government has no intention of suppressing the peaceful protest of the people, neither in the past nor now.

Also read: PM Shehbaz Sharif approves Rs23bln to resolve problems of AJK people

Despite Section 144 being imposed, over 100 Azad Kashmir police personnel were injured, and one lost his life. The Prime Minister acknowledged that the coalition government in Azad Kashmir is working to address the issues.

Government ministers were in talks with the Joint Action Committee to resolve the crisis. The Prime Minister also mentioned that Azad Kashmir receives 300,000 tons of wheat annually from the federal government. The Azad Kashmir government has successfully curbed the smuggling and theft of wheat, he added.

Earlier, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif approved the immediate provision of twenty-three billion rupees to solve the problems of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The approval was given at a special meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad today. It took stock of the current situation in AJK.

The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the top political leadership.

AJK Protests

Azad Kashmir witnessed violent clashes between the police and activists of a rights movement amid a wheel-jam and shutter-down strike across the territory, which left at least one police official dead and several others injured.

Sub-inspector Adnan Qureshi succumbed to a gunshot wound in the chest in the town of Islamgarh, where he was deployed to stop a rally for Muzaffarabad under the banner of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC).

The violent protesters damaged multiple vehicles, including a magistrate’s car at the Poonch-Kotli road. Moreover, markets, trade centres, offices and schools and restaurants remained closed across the AJK.