8 People Died During 4 Days Of Demo Ended Riots In Khasmir

ILLUSTRATION OF UNSPLASH/Burhan Ahmad

Eight people were killed in four days of demonstrations that led to riots in Pakistan-controlled operandi. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a committee consisting of senior officials to resolve ongoing clashes.

So far, little information has reached the outside world about how widely the protests have been, which broke out as thousands of people from nearby cities gathered in the regional capital Muzafarabad on Monday.

Authorities have since cut lines and internet access to the region, where controls have been divided between Pakistan and India which have disputed since the two countries were formed in 1947.

Photographs from Muchafhabad show riot police firing tear gas at a bridge on Wednesday.

Three policemen and five civilians have been killed so far, two security officials in Islamabad told Reuters.

Officials said clashes between demonstrators and police had not subsided since the protests began on Monday.

Businesses, schools, and transportation have been on strike in response to the protests and have been closed in most parts of the region over the past four days, officials and reports on Pakistani TV said.

Sharif formed a political committee to investigate the clashes and called on protesters to negotiate, a statement from his office said.

"The government is always ready to solve the problems of our brothers and sisters in korontas," he said.

A committee member, Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal, said he hoped to resolve all of these problems through negotiations.

Shaukat Nawaz Mir, who led theACy civil rights group alliance, said prior to the demonstration, protesters opposed the facilities and privileges enjoyed by politicians, bureaucrats, and other top government officials in the region.

"When we said we needed medicines at the hospital, they (the authorities) said they had no funds, but they had money for a luxurious lifestyle," he told Theten Link, local YouTube news channel.

Another major complaint is a seat in the localliquid legislature that has been provided for representatives from other regions of Pakistan, whichACtivists say Sudan has been used to form or overthrow local governments.

Four people were killed in similar clashes last year, before Sharif approved a grant of 24 billion rupees ($86 million) to help meet most of their demands, including flour subsidies and electricity prices.