ISLAMABAD: A senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party this week called for calm in Azad Kashmir, as fierce clashes between police and supporters of a rights movement demanding cheap electricity and subsidized wheat broke out in the area.

One cop succumbed to a gunshot wound while 90 others were injured on Saturday after clashes broke out between police and supporters of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) in various parts of Kashmir, media reports said. 

The protests turned violent when police attempted to stop a rally headed for Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabad via Kotli and Poonch districts. Protesters have been demanding the provision of electricity as per hydropower generation cost in Azad Kashmir, subsidized wheat flour and an end to the privileges of the elite, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported. 

“The political situation that developed today [Saturday] in Azad Kashmir and the law-and-order situation that [deteriorated] it is not reasonable at all,” Shah Ghulam Qadir, the president of the PML-N’s Azad Kashmir chapter, said in a video message on Saturday. 

Qadir said he spoke to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the deteriorating situation in the territory, adding that the premier was concerned. 

“I would also like to urge the government of Azad Kashmir to open the door to negotiations and resolve all matters through talks,” Qadir said. 

Media reports said around 70 JAAC activists were arrested by police during raids at their residences in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur divisions, triggering clashes in Dadyal on Thursday.

The committee had subsequently announced a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike on Friday, a day ahead of its long march toward Muzaffarabad on Saturday.

Former Azad Kashmir prime minister Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider took to social media platform X to offer his condolences for the police officer’s killing. 

Ex-PM Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said in a statement that “continuous harassment and violence” against peaceful protesters in AJK is unacceptable and condemnable.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan since 1947 when the two countries gained independence from British colonial India. Two out of the three wars fought by the arch-rivals have been over Kashmir. 

Both countries claim the territory in full but administer parts of it. The western portion of the larger Kashmir region is administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will leave for China next week to hold important discussions on bilateral trade, cooperation and upgradation of multi-billion-dollar infrastructure corridor, state-run media reported on Sunday. 

Beijing has been one of Islamabad’s most reliable foreign partners in recent years, readily providing financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor. In July last year, China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.

Dar will leave for Beijing on Monday for a four-day official trip during which he would also co-chair the 5th Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

“The two sides will comprehensively review Pakistan-China bilateral relations including economic and trade cooperation, high-level exchanges and visits; upgradation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and future connectivity initiatives,” the state-run Radio Pakistan said. 

China has invested over $65 billion in energy and infrastructure projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The project is part of President Xi Jinping’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative. CPEC is designed to provide China with a shorter and safer trading route to the Middle East and beyond through Pakistan. 

Since its initiation in 2013, CPEC has seen tens of billions of dollars funneled into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects. But the undertaking has also been hit by Pakistan struggling to keep up its financial obligations as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants.

“They will also exchange views on the unfolding regional geopolitical landscape and bilateral cooperation at the multilateral fora,” the state-run media reported. 

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Dar’s visit to the country reflects the importance the two countries attach to deepening their “All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.”

Dar’s visit to China takes place in the backdrop of Pakistan’s moves to seek foreign investment from its allies as it tries to navigate an economic crisis that has seen its reserves dip to low levels and its currency weaken against the dollar. 

Islamabad has seen visits by diplomatic and business delegations from Saudi Arabia, Japan and Uzbekistan in recent weeks. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has vowed to ensure an enabling business environment in Pakistan for foreign investors and traders.