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Gilgit Baltistan Youth Committee organized a protest in the illegally occupied Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK's Gilgit Baltistan) against the computerized electricity bills and load shedding in the region, according to local media.
On December 31 and January 1, Gilgit Baltistan Youth Committee organised the protest as the people in the illegally occupied region of Gilgit-Baltistan have been facing a severe power crisis with up to 21 hours of power cuts, causing problems for all businesses and institutes. On normal days, the residents of GB are experiencing an average of 10 hours of load shedding each day. Despite the chilling weather, thousands of furious residents took to the streets against the establishment and raised anti-Pakistan slogans. The shops and markets were shut down by the locals despite the New Year and the holiday season. The locals are particularly enraged due to the interference of Islamabad in matters of Gilgit Baltistan (GB). Apart from load-shedding, electricity outages, inflation and the wheat cries were the other major issues of protest for residents. Notably, in this region, there are three powerhouses but despite this, the residents continue to suffer. The interference of Islamabad in internal matters of GB has aggravated the anger of the local people. Pakistan has been impacted by devastating floods after which tonnes of wheat and other food products have been destroyed, showing the negligence of the government. This occurred at a time when the country was already dealing with inflation. Recently, the Pakistan government has increased the prices of wheat flour, sugar and ghee by 25 to 62 per cent for sale through the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) with immediate effect to reduce the impact of untargeted subsidies, reported The Dawn. The Dawn report said, "The beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) would be exempt from the price increase, while the limit for subsidised purchases from the USC has also been curtailed." The USC notified the new rates on Saturday, New Year's Eve after the country's federal cabinet approved Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's recommendation to clear a hybrid model of subsidies involving targeted and untargeted elements of the prime minister's relief package, as per Dawn's report. (ANI)
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