MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan — Protesters in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have canceled rallies over price increases that left four people dead after authorities agreed to lower electricity and wheat prices.
The local civil rights alliance, the Awami Action Committee, said it had canceled a planned march in the city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of the part of the disputed Himalayan region controlled by Pakistan, after the government accepted all its demands. .
Protests against price increases broke out last Friday and quickly turned violent. Four people, including a police officer, died in clashes between protesters and security forces, who used tear gas and opened fire. More than 100 police officers were injured, authorities said.
Late on Monday, local government head Chaudhry Anwarul Haq said he had reduced wheat and electricity prices.
The economic crisis in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir reflects the country’s broader problems. Pakistan’s monthly inflation rate reached 40% last year and remains at 17%.
Although Pakistan and also Pakistan-controlled Kashmir have witnessed protests against price hikes in the past, the Kashmir protests were the first time people took to the streets in that territory in such large numbers.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim all of the territory. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over their competing claims to the region. In the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, militants have fought Indian rule since 1989. In 2003, the two nations agreed to a ceasefire that has largely held despite regular skirmishes.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
