These strikes were apparently being portrayed as anti-state protests by the Indian media. 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. They said the struggle of the people of Gilgit-Baltistan were to integrate the region fully with Pakistan as a constitutional entity.

Source: Pakistan Today December 04, 2017 15:11 UTC