Following the reported detention of around 70 activists aimed at thwarting a planned ‘long march’ by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee to urge the government to fulfill an agreement reached in February this year, the committee leading the movement has declared a “shutter-down and wheel-jam” strike across the region today (Friday).
The public action committee has been spearheading a rights campaign against ‘unfair’ taxes on electricity bills and had previously observed a shutter-down strike for this cause in August last year.
The movement insists on providing electricity to consumers at a rate reflecting the production cost of hydel power in AJK. After prolonged protests, a ministerial committee had promised to calculate the cost “because the government was committed to easing the burden on its citizens.”
Last month, the committee announced plans to march on Muzaffarabad on May 11 to protest the alleged failure to honor commitments made in writing by an official reconciliation committee of cabinet members on December 23, 2023, as evidenced by a notification issued on February 4, 2024.
According to a minister, 70 individuals were detained; meanwhile, clashes erupted between traders and police in Dadyal tehsil.
In the early hours of Thursday, police in Muzaffarabad raided the residence of Shaukat Nawaz Mir, a prominent trader leader, along with several other action committee members. Eight committee members, including two student leaders, were detained during these raids.
In Mirpur’s Dadyal tehsil, clashes ensued after police crackdown on over a dozen activists who protested following raids. Traders demonstrated at Maqbool Butt Shaheed Chowk, and police used teargas shells that affected several schoolgirls. Traders responded by pelting stones at the police.
In response to these events, Nawaz Mir issued a video message from a hideout, citing the authorities’ “brutal attitude” in Dadyal, and announced the protest originally scheduled for May 11 would now take place on May 10 (today).
