In the last fives day of clashes, four people were killed and over 100 sustained injuries
A coalition of civil rights groups in Pakistan-administered Kashmir cancelled a protest march on Tuesday following several days of confrontations over high prices, during which four people died and over 100 were injured, according to officials.
The decision to call off the march came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a grant of 24 billion rupees ($86 million) to address most of the protesters’ demands, including subsidies on flour and electricity prices.
As per Reuters report, Shaukat Nawaz Mir, the head of the alliance, announced the cancellation in Muzaffarabad, the capital city of the scenic Himalayan region.
Mir was quoted saying, “The government has agreed to all our demands,” as he urged protesters to return home and resume normal activities.
He also demanded financial compensation for the families of the three protesters and one police officer killed during the clashes. The fatalities occurred on Monday evening when paramilitary troops fired after being attacked, as local government official Adnan Khurshid confirmed to Reuters. The police officer died in clashes over the weekend.
Kashmir’s Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Chaudhry announced late on Monday that the allocated funds would help reduce certain prices in the region. He specified that the subsidised rate for 40 kilograms (88.2 pounds) of flour would decrease from 3,100 rupees to 2,000 rupees and also announced a significant reduction in electricity prices.
