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Protests against flour price turn violent in Pakistan, over 100 casualties recorded

Reports noted that paramilitary troops sent to end the unrest fired bullets and tear gas at protesters.

• May 14, 2024
Pakistan flag
Pakistan flag [Credit: The Econimic Times]

Over 100 people wounded as violence marred protests against the rising prices of flour and electricity in Pakistan.

Thousands of residents have been on the street over the increase as the unrest entered a fifth day on Tuesday.

The detention of protest leaders had further fuelled the unrest.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered subsidies worth 23 billion rupees ($83m; £65m) on Monday to assuage the protestors but his request failed to quell the unrest.

The protests have been intensifying since the weekend, leaving three people dead, prompting authorities to cut mobile services.

Also, schools, public transportation and businesses have been suspended. Authorities said one of the three who died was a police officer.

They sent paramilitary troops known as rangers into the regional capital, Muzaffarabad to dispatch the agitators.

Reports stated that paramilitary troops sent to quench the unrest fired bullets and lobbed tear gas at protesters.

Footage of the protests shows both sides hitting one another with rods.

“The rangers should not have shot at the protesters. We were just asking for our rights and got bullet shots in return,” Muhammad Qasim, one of the protesters, told AFP on Tuesday.

The Joint Awami Action Committee, an activist group that initiated the protests, declared Tuesday a “Black Day” to honour those who died.

Pakistani-administered Kashmir is a semi-autonomous region with its own regional government.

Mr Kashmir has been a source of conflict between India and Pakistan for more than 70 years.

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