Fresh protests have been sparked in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan after the local political party, Awami Action Committee (ACC) held a rally to deny allegations made by the Indian media that their shutter down strike against new taxes was an “anti-state move,” media reports said on Tuesday.
Earlier, the ACC had been holding strikes against new taxes levied in the region. These strikes were apparently being portrayed as anti-state protests by the Indian media.
According to a report carried by Pakistan Today, leaders of the ACC delivered a number of fiery speeches to a charged crowd in which they said that their organisation and their strike was nowhere near to what the Indian media was portraying it as. The protest was staged on the call of the ACC and was attended by leaders of political parties and members of the civil society.
The protesters said they were inflamed over reports that Gilgit-Baltistan was demanding independence from Pakistan. In reality, the ACC along with regional trade unions had simply been conducting a shutter down strike against the imposition of government taxes ordered from the centre.