Islamabad: Two men were killed and several
others injured when a mob protesting the government's failure
to compensate people affected by flooding and landslides
clashed with police in northern Pakistan on Thursday.
People displaced by a massive landslide in Hunza Valley
last year marched in a rally to protest the government's
failure to pay compensation when the Chief Minister of
Gilgit-Baltistan arrived in the area.
Police stopped a crowd that wanted to approach the
Chief Minister and later opened fire, resulting in the death
of two persons, including a 50-year-old man.
The angry mob attacked government offices and torched
several police vehicles, TV news channels reported.
At least four others were injured in the police firing,
protestors alleged.
The protestors threw stones at police, injuring a senior
police officer and two policemen.
The protestors said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
had announced that compensation would be paid to all families
affected by the landslide but many persons had not yet
received any aid.
Families which were given the compensation refused to
accept the money unless all affected people were provided
assistance.
A massive landslide created a lake at Attabad village
in Gilgit-Baltistan last year. The flooding killed 20 people
and displaced 6,000 people.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, August 11, 2011, 19:15