Three civilians shot dead in PoK, the incident took place on the same day that PM Shehbaz Sharif declared PKR 23 billion will be released immediately for the region.
The Pakistani Rangers, a paramilitary group under the control of the Pakistan Army, opened fire on protesting citizens on Monday about rising costs in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, resulting in at least three civilian deaths and numerous injuries.
The incident occurred on the same day that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in response to growing violence, called for an emergency meeting in Islamabad and pledged the immediate release of PKR 23 billion for the region.
According to Pakistan’s Friday Times, the non-cooperation movement, which started a year ago as a protest against growing power costs and flour prices, is the cause of the most recent tensions.
Islamabad dispatched local police and federal forces, including as the Frontier and Punjab constabularies, to guard Chinese laborers and projects in the area, to crack down on the demonstrators, the peaceful demonstration on Friday descended into violence.
Following a strike that rendered the region paralyzed on Saturday, there were violent altercations between the police and civilians in PoK. According to Dawn, there was one police officer slain and over ninety injuries during the altercations.
Social media videos surfaced on Saturday showing citizens pursuing and beating police personnel after a day of heavy police activity against demonstrators, including the deployment of roadblocks, batons, and tear gas.