PoK protest: Why Is Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir On The Boil?

In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, there's trouble brewing once more. There have been violent protests in PoK, which started on Friday (May 10). According to reports from Pakistani media, one police officer has died, and more than 90 people have been injured.
The protests began when around 70 members of the Joint Awami Action Committee, a group led by local traders, were arrested during a strike. They were protesting against the increasing costs of food, fuel, and utilities. It is not hidden that Pakistan is facing economic difficulties and high inflation, making life tough for its people. Additionally, some traders are suffering due to the halt in trade with India.
Now let's dwell into details what are these protests about.
On Friday, traders went out to protest against the high prices of electricity and food. This isn't the first time such protests have happened. Back in August 2023, there were similar demonstrations against the high electricity bills.
Now the question here is why are these Pakistani traders so aggressive right now, so the answer is change in taxes and policies of India, yes Traders in PoK faced a tough time after India increased customs duty to 200% on Pakistani goods like dry dates, rock salt, cement after the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019. Because of this, Pakistan's exports to India dropped significantly, from around 45 million dollar per month in 2018 to just 2.5 million dollar per month between March and July 2019.
A big strike stopped Muzaffarabad, the main city in PoK, as public transport, shops, markets, and businesses were closed. Many protestors broke barricades and fought with the police in the Mirpur and Muzaffarabad areas. On Sunday, the paramilitary Rangers were brought in to protect important government buildings like the legislative assembly and the courts.
Well, if we talking economically then Pakistan's economy has been facing serious problems for over two years because energy costs keep going up. According to the Dawn newspaper, the cost of living has been going up a lot. In May 2022, consumer inflation was more than 20%, and by May 2023, it reached as high as 38%.
Now how will Pakistan govt deal with this situation it will be really interesting to watch out as POK has always been a really sensitive matter for both the countries.
#pok #pokprotest #pakistan
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