Massive protests break out in PoK against unfair taxes in Pakistan

Massive protests erupted in Dadyal tehsil in Mirpur district of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Friday, triggered by unjust taxes and the arrest of many activists.

A protest planned for Saturday against Pakistan’s taxes and rising prices escalated prematurely due to the deployment of additional forces and the arrest of 70 activists. This aroused the anger of the public, who incited him to take to the streets on Friday itself. According to reports, protesters threw stones at security guards and engaged in clashes with them.

The administration has implemented Section 144 in the region, according to ANI.

The Pakistani administration attempted to crush protests planned for May 11 by deploying additional troops from the Pakistan Rangers and Frontier Corps, as well as arresting activists.

Seventy activists were arrested by police to prevent a “long march” announced by the Jammu and Kashmir Awami Joint Action Committee, The Dawn reported.

According to Dawn’s report, police also used tear gas to disperse the protesting crowd, some of which also landed in a nearby school and injured several girls.

The Awami Joint Action Committee of Jammu and Kashmir had scheduled a general strike and a transport strike on Friday to urge the Pakistan government to comply with an agreement between the two sides in February this year. The Islamabad government failed to deliver on the deal’s promises, leading to protests.

Currently, members of the Front Corps, Rangers and Quick Response Force (QRF) of Punjab province are on the streets of the region, news agency ANI reported.

In the early hours of Thursday, police in Muzaffarabad, the administrative center of PoK, conducted searches at the home of a prominent trader, Shaukat Nawaz Mir, as well as the homes of several other members of the action committee.

Police arrested eight committee members, including two student leaders, DAWN reported.

Political activist Amjad Ayub Mirza, speaking to ANI, condemned the incident, stressing that violence against peaceful protesters in PoK is intolerable.

“After the police bombardment in Dadyal Mirpur, there was widespread reaction, people retaliated by physically confronting the police,” Srinagar-based journalist Sajid Yousuf Shah told X.

Similar protests against high electricity tariffs began in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in August 2023 and quickly spread across the Islamic Republic.

As some cities and towns saw protests take a violent turn, a call for civil disobedience went viral on social media.

Pakistanis are grappling with severe inflation, exacerbated by strict conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when approving a $3 billion financial aid package. Rising electricity rates worsened the problems and people across Pakistan were forced to take to the streets.

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