MUZAFFARABAD: A shutter-down and wheel-jam strike was observed in cdistrict of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday as part of an ongoing protest campaign by the civil society for abolition of “sky-high power tariff” as well as settlementof some other unresolved issues of public concern.

Except for the medical stores, all other businesses remained closed and traffic off the roads across the district that straddles Mangla Dam,one of the largest multipurpose water bodies used for irrigation and hydroelectric power in the country.

The strike call was given by the District Bar Association (DBA), headed by firebrand Chaudhry Kamran Tariq, in collaboration with the civil society organisations, mainly the Mirpur Protection Forum, Anjuman-i-Tajran, Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Transporters Union.

Witnesses said that the strike was successful in Mirpur city and partial in its suburban areas and other towns of Mirpur district.

According to witnesses, many people from the suburban areas also participated in ademonstration, held in the lakeside city’s famous Chowk-e-Shaheedan in this regard.

On September5, an effective shutter down strike was observed in Mirpur division, comprising three districts, following which AJK Premier Chaudhry Anwarul Haq had held a meeting with a representative delegation from Mirpur’s civil society, led by Mr Tariq, in a bid to allay their concerns.

The prime minister had promised to the delegation that he would ensure relief to the people over the next 45 days, which ended on November 2.

However, the DBA leadership had made it clear that in the event of non-fulfilment of the commitments made by the prime minister it would be left with no choice but to stage another shutter-down and wheel-jam strike on November 7.

“It is ironic that the government has miserably failed to provide any tangible relief to the masses as their right and not as any favour,” said DBA president Mr Tariq at the Chowk-e-Shaheedan demonstration.

He asserted that since 2003 the AJK government had been purchasing electricity at Rs 2.59 per unit from Wapda and selling the same to the AJK people at exorbitant rates ranging from Rs 30 to Rs 40 per unit.

“Now it’s binding upon the government to provide relief to the masses from the money it has unlawfully extorted from the consumers over the past 20 years,” he said, stressing that the slab system in power bills should be abolished forthwith and per unit cost should be reasonable and similar for all units consumed by users.

Mr Tariq as well as other speakers also listed several other issues “haunting the Mirpur residents since long due to the apathy of the rulers” on the occasion.

“Within the next two weeks, the DBA will organise a convention of lawyers from all over the state to fully connect the entire legal fraternity with the people’s rights movement,” Mr Tariq declared.

Previously, Muzaffarabad and Poonch divisions have also observed successful wheel jam and shutter down strikes against inflated electricity bills and other allegedly unattended area-specific issues under the aegis of local ‘action committees’ wherein mostly the trader leaders are the spearhead.

Mr Tariq warned that after the passage of two weeks, the movement in Mirpur would be linked with the main rights movement of the entire liberated territory, which could include a long march either towards the AJK Legislative Assembly or the residences of ministers in Muzaffarabad or the Mangla powerhouse in Mirpur.

He expressed the hope that the rulers would “act sensibly” and take steps without further loss of time towards implementation of the ‘charter of demands’ to defuse the situation and earn respect and goodwill among the masses.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2023