ISLAMABAD: An alliance of civil rights groups on Tuesday called off a protest that had lasted for several days across Azad Kashmir and led to serious clashes with police and paramilitary Rangers after the government met its demand to reduce electricity and wheat prices in the region.

The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) organized the protests that started on May 11, seeking subsidized wheat flour and a reduction in electricity tariffs to bring them in line with the hydropower generation cost in Azad Kashmir.

The demonstrations led to four deaths, including one police officer who was reportedly killed by protesters in gunfire, while three demonstrators lost their lives in clashes with Rangers in Muzaffarabad.

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Chaudhry said at a news conference on Monday his government had notified reduced wheat and electricity prices after the Pakistani government approved Rs23 billion ($83 million) in subsidies.

“On the appeal of the Awami Action Committee, it has been decided to end the ongoing lockdown and wheel-jam strike across Azad Kashmir,” Amjad Ali Khan, a member of the JAAC core committee, told Arab News on Tuesday.

He said JAAC demanded compensation for the three young demonstrators killed in clashes with Rangers. He also informed that a day of mourning and a shutter-down strike would be held today across Kashmir to honor the three demonstrators.

Speaking about the details of JAAC’s agreement with the government, Khan said the authorities had agreed to drop all the cases and release the arrested individuals.

“The Awami Action Committee demanded the formation of a judicial commission to investigate police violence in the Mirpur Division and Muzaffarabad,” he added, saying the judicial commission’s investigation should be made public and those responsible should be punished.

Abdul Majid Khan, a spokesperson for the AJK government, said the authorities had shown utmost restraint to pacify the situation.

“All the demands of the protesters have been fulfilled, and the situation will hopefully return to normalcy now,” he told Arab News.

Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the situation in Azad Kashmir had been addressed after the federal government approved the grant to deal with people’s concerns.

“With the grant given by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the issue has been resolved to meet the people’s demands,” he told the media in Islamabad.

He mentioned Azad Kashmir’s special status, pointing out that its affairs were managed with the grants of Pakistan’s federal government.

“The government will look after the police personnel who fell victims of the protests,” he added.

The Himalayan territory of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence from Britain in 1947, with both countries ruling part of the territory but claiming it in full.

The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity, while India rules the southern portion as a union territory.

While the Indian portion has faced an ongoing insurgency for decades and multiple armed attempts by the state to quell it, the Pakistani side has remained relatively calm over the decades, though it is also highly militarized.

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Tuesday that his government would privatize all state-owned enterprises (SOEs) except for those deemed “strategically important” or essential ones, state-owned media reported, as Islamabad looks to overhaul its public entities to improve their performance.

The announcement is in direct conflict with Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s statement from Sunday in which he said that all public entities would be handed over to the private sector. The minister had said he and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar were on the same page that “there is no such thing as a strategic SOE.” 

Former finance minister Dar had chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization on May 10 in which he had said the government’s business would only be limited to essential or strategic SOEs. Dar said while priority would be accorded to loss-making entities, even SOEs who were earning profits would be considered for privatization.

PM Sharif chaired a high-level meeting on matters related to the Ministry of Privatization and Privatization Commission on Tuesday, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced to privatize all government-owned enterprises with the exception of strategically important state-owned enterprises,” Radio Pakistan said. “The Prime Minister directed all federal ministries to take necessary action in this regard and cooperate with the Privatization Commission.”

Pakistan’s Finance Division has defined strategic entities as those whose functions have significant strategic, security, or social importance in addition to economic values for the country. It has defined essential SOEs as those which are critical for the execution of government policies and where the private sector is unable to assume those functions due to various reasons. 

The Oil & Gas Development Limited (OGDCL), Pakistan State Oil (PSO), National Bank of Pakistan, and hydropower projects are considered strategically important enterprises owned by the government. However, the government has not classified strategic assets for privatization yet.

Pakistan agreed to overhaul its public entities under a $3 billion financial bailout agreement it signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year, a deal that helped it avert a sovereign debt default in 2023. The IMF has said Pakistan’s SOEs whose losses are burning a hole in government finances would need stronger governance. Pakistan is currently negotiating with the international lender for a larger, longer program for which it must implement an ambitious reforms agenda, including the privatization of debt-ridden SOEs.

Among the main entities Pakistan is pushing to privatize is its national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The government is putting on the block a stake ranging from 51 percent to 100 percent.

Sharif instructed authorities to ensure transparency in the privatization process of all state-owned entities, including the PIA. 

“He directed to televise live Pakistan International Airlines Company Limited’s privatization including bidding and other important steps,” Radio Pakistan said. “The process of privatization of other institutions will also be broadcast live.”

The prime minister was informed that the pre-qualification process for PIA’s privatization would be completed by the end of May. He was told loss-making SOEs would be privatized on priority and that a “pre-qualified panel of experts” is being appointed in Pakistan’s Privatization Commission to speed up the process.

Separately, Aurangzeb chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises on Monday which was attended by ministers of maritime affairs, economic affairs, housing and works, the governor of Pakistan’s central bank and other officials. The meeting was held to evaluate the performance of the country’s public entities and review the progress of the government’s privatization agenda.

Aurangzeb directed concerned ministries and divisions to submit proposals for the categorization of their respective public entities by May 20. The step is aimed at reviewing the rationale for retaining any commercial functions within the public sector, the finance ministry said.

“The objective is to retain only the essential functions within the public sector & to assign the remaining functions to the private sector,” it said. “At the same time the entities which remain in public sector have to be more competitive, accountable, and responsive to the needs of citizens.”

Participants agreed to foster transparency, efficiency, and sustainable growth within the SOEs, reflecting the government’s dedication to ensuring the optimal utilization of public resources, the ministry said.

Tahir Abbas, the head of research at Arif Habib Limited, considered Pakistan’s largest securities brokerage company, said the conflicting statements between Sharif and Aurangzeb showed lack of coordination between them. 

“There seems lack of coordination between them on the classification of assets for privatization,” he told Arab News.