{"id":49282,"date":"2024-05-13T08:54:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T08:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/13\/violent-unrest-over-economic-strife-erupts-in-pakistans-kashmir-region\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T08:54:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T08:54:22","slug":"violent-unrest-over-economic-strife-erupts-in-pakistans-kashmir-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/13\/violent-unrest-over-economic-strife-erupts-in-pakistans-kashmir-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Violent Unrest Over Economic Strife Erupts in Pakistan\u2019s Kashmir Region"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"549\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/13\/multimedia\/13pakistan-kashmir-mpfw\/13pakistan-kashmir-mpfw-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,549&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Violent Unrest Over Economic Strife Erupts in Pakistan\u2019s Kashmir Region\" title=\"Violent Unrest Over Economic Strife Erupts in Pakistan\u2019s Kashmir Region\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Vast protests have broken out in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, driven by outrage over soaring electricity bills and flour prices in a region that has long suffered economically because of its status as a conflict zone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In an attempt to quell the growing unrest \u2014 which has led to a widespread strike and left one police officer dead and 90 injured \u2014 Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called an emergency meeting for Monday in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As protesters planned to march this week to Muzaffarabad, the regional capital, the authorities suspended internet service in many areas and shut down schools in the city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI have never seen such a large-scale uprising in Pakistan-administered Kashmir,\u201d said Mubashar Naqvi, a Muzaffarabad resident and a teacher at the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. \u201cThis protest is unique because it unites people from all walks of life in demanding basic necessities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The picturesque but highly militarized Himalayan region of Kashmir, claimed by both Pakistan and India since their independence from Britain in 1947, has been the site of three wars between the estranged neighbors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The current unrest poses a challenge for the Pakistani military, which maintains a heavy presence in the region, and the civilian leadership in Islamabad. Pakistan regards Kashmir as a disputed territory whose status should be resolved through a U.N.-mandated referendum to allow Kashmiris to choose between being part of Pakistan or India.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the Pakistani government has faced criticism for suppressing local movements seeking complete independence. Although there have been no calls for independence in the current wave of unrest, residents said the protests reflected a general feeling of dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThere\u2019s a strong sense of anger and frustration among the Kashmiri youth, driven by political disappointment, high inflation and severe unemployment,\u201d Mr. Naqvi said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The unrest began on Friday when an activist group made up largely of traders initiated a strike in Muzaffarabad that soon led to violent clashes with law enforcement officers. The detention of Kashmiri activists in overnight raids had fueled the call for a strike.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Kashmiri authorities have urged protesters not to resort to violence. Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, a local government minister, said that a plan to send in paramilitary troops was withdrawn as talks with the protesters continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the real solution, he said, lay with national Pakistani officials. \u201cThe big demand of the people, the demand for cheap electricity and the end of power outages, falls under the jurisdiction of the government of Pakistan,\u201d Mr. Rathore said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The region depends heavily on government jobs and receives little private investment because of its status.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the protests entered their third day, the streets of Muzaffarabad were quiet on Sunday. Security forces, identified by their black bandannas, were a stark presence at checkpoints. Residents watched from behind closed windows, their daily routines disrupted and their supplies dwindling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To ease the hardship, protest organizers said essential shops could open for three hours each evening. Ayesha Bibi, 34, a Muzaffarabad resident, expressed her distress over her young child\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cShe hasn\u2019t had milk for two days,\u201d Ms. Bibi said. \u201cWe can bear hunger, but denying us basic services like affordable electricity and wheat flour is unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Siddique Haidari, 68, another resident, lamented the widespread damage caused by the clashes. \u201cEvery home here shows the damage,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Jalaluddin Mughal<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/13\/world\/asia\/pakistan-kashmir-protests.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vast protests have broken out in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, driven by outrage over soaring electricity bills and flour prices in a region that has long suffered economically because of its status as a conflict zone. In an attempt to quell the growing unrest \u2014 which has led to a widespread strike and left [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/13\/multimedia\/13pakistan-kashmir-mpfw\/13pakistan-kashmir-mpfw-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[484,2701,7645,15892,8732,49671,3092,1390],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49282"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49282"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49284,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49282\/revisions\/49284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}