Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday expressed deep concern over violent unrest in the Pakistan-controlled part of Kashmir, urging demonstrators to remain peaceful and instructing the police to show restraint.
His appeal came after four days of pitched battles in Muzaffarabad, the regional capital, as well as in other smaller cities, left at least nine people dead, including three policemen, and more than 150 injured.
“Peaceful protest is every citizen’s constitutional and democratic right,” Mr. Sharif said, while warning that public order must not be threatened. He announced financial assistance for victims’ families, a transparent investigation into the violence and the sending of a high-level committee to negotiate with protest leaders.
The turmoil carries weight far beyond Muzaffarabad’s barricaded streets. The picturesque but heavily militarized region of Kashmir is claimed by both India and Pakistan, longtime rivals who have fought three wars over it. With the Pakistani military maintaining a large presence, unrest in the area quickly reverberates through national security circles and fuels wider concerns about regional stability.
The effect is felt abroad, too. In Britain, the sizable Kashmiri community staged rallies this week in London and Birmingham.
At home, the anger is driven by familiar frustrations: electricity prices, the privileges of political elites and demands for electoral reform. The Joint Awami Action Committee, a coalition of businessmen, students, lawyers and civil society activists, has channeled that resentment into street demonstrations, shaking the regional administration.
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The post As Unrest in Pakistani Kashmir Turns Deadly, Prime Minister Urges Calm appeared first on New York Times.
