Palandri: A massive protest was held in the Palandri area of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Tuesday with locals accusing the government of poor infrastructure, high inflation and rampant corruption in the occupied territory.

A large number of local residents carried out a mass protest as the government has failed to construct Tangi Gala Road and improve other infrastructure in the area.

Section-144 was imposed by the police in the area and when the protesters were stopped, they shouted anti-government slogans and reiterated that the protests will continue until their demands are not met.

A local leader said, “I want to convey it to all political parties – be it PPP or PTI that they should start working for the welfare of the people, or else they have to face the consequences.”

The people in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have often accused Islamabad of giving no attention to the issues related to the PoK region and the local people are suffering due to a lack of resources and better infrastructure.

Earlier in July, The Awami Action Committee (AAC) held protest demonstrations in Skardu town of Gilgit-Baltistan as power outages have become a regular affair in the region. Awami Action Committee (AAC), Baltistan is a public platform associated with the Jammu Kashmir Peoples National Party (JKPNP).

The demonstrations were held on July 15 against frequent power load shedding in the area and raised the issue of suspension of work on Gwadi, Harpo and Shahar Thang Power Projects.

In order to end load shedding in the Skardu region, hundreds of locals took part in the demonstration holding banners with requests to resume work on the three power projects indicated above.

In an address to the protesters, the AAC, Baltistan Chairman Nazaf Ali lambasted the administration for halting construction on power projects in Skardu and charged that it had neglected the region and its people.

Accusing the government of Gilgit-Baltistan and various political parties of large-scale corruption in the construction of power projects, Nazaf Ali said that as of now millions of rupees have already been spent on these power projects, however, not a single brick was laid on the site.

He also alleged that the judiciary was behaving in subordination to the political masters and passing manipulated mandates only to help corrupt politicians, ignoring the plight of the people.

The people of both PoK and PoGB are starving and businesses are going bankrupt due to the unavailability of power and electricity. Thousands have lost their jobs as businesses and small industrial workshops are forced by circumstances to shut down.