Muzaffarabad: Frustrated residents in the illegally-occupied region of Muzaffarabad staged a protest against the spike in the prices of flour, according to Pakistan's vernacular media Kashmir Dharti, Siasat.

The trade associations and other groups had warned the government that if the flour prices do not come down, they will launch a public movement after January 19, the report said.

The flour dealers have rejected the government's plan to form municipal committees to control the supplies, according to Pakistan's vernacular media.

Pakistan is facing its worst-ever flour-crisis with parts of the country reporting a shortage of wheat and stampedes reported from several areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Baluchistan provinces.

Tens of thousands spend hours daily to get the subsidised bags of flour that are already in short supply in the market, according to a report in The Express Tribune.

Prices of wheat and flour have skyrocketed amid the ongoing crisis in Pakistan, The Express Tribune reported.

Amid the flour crisis, the residents also suffered an electricity shortage. People in Muzaffarabad took to the streets to protest against increasing load-shedding hours, according to Kashmir Dharti, Siasat.

Meanwhile, in Hanza, the All Parties Business Association are protesting against no electricity, no water, no doctors in hospitals and no medicines in the area. There is no one to take notice of their problems and people are really angry with the administration, ernacular media Daily K2 reported, adding that APBA leaders warned that if the CM and the CS failed to take notice of their grievances they would block the Karakoram Highway.

Last year's floods left many people without food and electricity in Pakistan, whileleaving scores dead in Kohistan and Lower and Upper Kolai Pallas districts.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, 23 people were killed and eight injured in the three districts. PDMA and the district administration do not have data on MHPs, the Dawn reported.

The rainfalls followed by flash floods and aided by crumbling infrastructure and insufficient government response mechanisms wreaked havoc in Baluchistan in 2022. As per the situation reports of the National Disaster Management Authority, as of November, 336 people died and 187 were injured in the aftermath of the floods in Balochistan, stated The News International report.

Over 2,220 kilometres of roads were destroyed and 350,000 houses were washed away due to floods. Flood-hit people in Balochistan will face a difficult situation as winters in the region are often harsh, The News International reported on Sunday, adding that Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Sohbatpur districts were worst affected by floods.

Locals have said the government gave them more assistance in the 2010 floods, which caused less damage. Government officials, in an interview with The News International, rejected the claims made by local residents.

According to officials, the government has provided free wheat seed to small farmers in Balochistan.

Officials said the wheat seed would be helpful for farmers in the cultivation of wheat in the ongoing season as floods had swept away seed stockpiles in many places, risking a severe wheat shortage next year, The News International reported.