Rallies staged in KP against police torture on govt employees

TAKHTBHAI/ BATKHELA/BANNU: The government employees on Thursday condemned the police action against peaceful employees in Islamabad and demanded the incumbent rulers to honour their promises made with the public sector servants in the country. The protesters also blocked roads and suspended traffic in various cities to press the government for acceptance of their demands.

In Takhtbhai, the members of lecturers, professors and clerical staff associations of the Government Degree College staged a protest and blocked the Takhtbhai-Charsadda road.

The protesters, including Hayat Shah, Masood Shah, Miraj Muhammad, Daulat Khan and others, asked the government to fulfil their genuine and legal demands and release the arrested employees, who were staging a peaceful protest for their rights in Islamabad.

They also blasted the government and police for torture, teargas shelling and baton charging of employees, saying that it should had not happened in a democratic polity.

They asked the government to increase the salaries of employees in proportion to prevailing price-hike and inflation in the country.

“The government has made life miserable for the poor by hiking oil, electricity and gas prices every fortnight,” the protesters said, adding that the poor and youth were compelled to commit suicide due to price-hike of the daily use commodities.

In Batkhela, the government employees observed Black Day against the police torture and arrest of their colleagues in Islamabad and did not attend offices.

The office-bearers of All Government Employees of Coordination Council gathered at the District Secretariat in Batkhela and later staged a march upto Batkhela Press Club.

Holding banners and posters inscribed with their demands, the protesters chanted slogans against the government and police highhandedness and demanded immediate release of their colleagues. They said that the government had no other option but to issue a notification that it had promised employees recently.

The office-bearers of All Government Employees of Coordination Council, Bannu chapter, also staged a rally and blocked the road for traffic to protest the baton-charging and teargas shelling on the peaceful protesting government employees in Islamabad.

All Government Employees of Coordination Council vice-chairman Ghulam Diyaz Khan Sikandari led the protest rally.

The protesters condemned the police highhandedness against the peaceful employees, who were staging protests for pay raise and pension and acceptance of other demands.

They said that the arrested employees should be released forthwith and the genuine demands should be accepted and fulfilled to solve the stumbling issue between the government and protesting workers. The protesters also blocked the Regal Cinema Road and suspended all kinds of traffic.

The protesters said that the final round of their protest movement would be played on February 15.

They added that it would be a massive show of power of employees to meet their demands forthwith.