Islamabad: A high-level government delegation on Friday held the second round of talks with the protest leaders in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in an effort to convince them to end the demonstrations that have claimed at least nine lives and injured hundreds.
Violence broke out in the region following the call for a strike on September 29, forcing Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to send a group of ministers and other leaders to Muzaffarabad to find a negotiated solution to their grievances.
At least six civilians and three police personnel have been killed during the ongoing demonstrations in the region.
Nearly 172 police personnel and around 50 civilians sustained injuries during the demonstrations.
The delegation led by former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf held the first round of talks with the representatives of the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action
Committee (JKJAAC), representing traders, local leaders and civil society activists.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that a second round of negotiations was held in Muzaffarabad.
“We fully support the rights of the people of Kashmir,” he said, maintaining that most of their demands, which were in the public interest, had already been accepted.
“Constitutional amendments are required to fulfil the remaining few demands and talks are ongoing
regarding that.”