Gunfire at peace rally in Pakistan-administered Kashmir kills at least 1, wounds over 2 dozen

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Gunfire erupted during a peace rally in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Monday, killing at least one person and wounding over two dozen others, police and government officials said.

Local police officer Mohammad Afzal said the shooting happened as hundreds of people marched along a main road in Muzaffarabad, the regional capital. He said some of the wounded were listed in critical condition at hospitals.

Police, government officials and local media blamed armed members of the Awami Action Committee, a civil rights alliance that had called for a strike to demand subsidized food, electricity and other services, for initiating the violence.

The government said most residents ignored the strike call, and demonstrations elsewhere remained largely peaceful.

However, the alliance’s leader Shaukat Nawaz, in a speech to demonstrators in Kashmir, said most shops remained shut and the protest will continue until the acceptance of their demands. He accused members of the peace rally of initiating the gunfire.

The alliance wants the end of special allowances for government officials and the supply of electricity and wheat to the region at discounted rates, as compared to the rest of Pakistan. They held similar violent protests last year, when four people were killed and dozens were wounded.

The government said it had already provided wheat and electricity at discounted rates.

“After the government had already provided flour and electricity subsidies, demanding more through strikes appeared unreasonable and politically motivated,” the statement said.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, a member of a federal committee negotiating with the demonstrators, said authorities had agreed to 95% of their demands. But, he said, some still resorted to violence by opening fire on the rally.

Officials said mobile phone and internet service were partially suspended in parts of the region for security reasons.

The violence came a day after Mushtaq Minhas, a senior leader from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had asked the committee to delay its protest until after his return from the U.N. General Assembly in New York, when he planned to meet with them.

The alliance pressed ahead with the strike despite the request, he said.

Minhas said the government remained open to talks to address the demands of the Kashmiri people.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, but both claim it in its entirety.