The contractual teachers of Punjab ended their sit-in at Bani Gala on Sunday after they were assured that their demands will be met.
Chairman of the Secondary School Teachers Core Committee Qasim Bukhari stated that the Islamabad administration has assured them about the resolution of their demands during the negotiations that were held on Saturday last. “On the assurance of the Islamabad DC [deputy commissioner] becoming the mediator we are postponing the protest,” Bukhari said. “We will start the protest again on one-day’s notice if demands are not accepted.”
He said that the Punjab government had assured to make 14,000 contractual teachers permanent, but no practical steps have been taken in this regard.
Contractual teachers from 36 districts of Punjab converged on Bani Gala, near Prime Minister Imran Khan’s residence, on Saturday in an effort to draw attention towards their demand of being made permanent employees.
Earlier, school teachers, who form the building block of any education system, were baton-charged and tear-gassed near the Prime Minister’s sprawling mansion the previous day. A subsequent protest by the teachers in the federal capital also led to a massive traffic jam.
The Islamabad Police, deployed in large numbers with riot gear, had barricaded the Bani Gala road. They attempted to stop the teachers, but when the teachers persisted, the police resorted to firing tear-gas at them and then baton-charging them.
At this, several teachers could be seen running for cover. Some even clung on to other teachers as they found themselves surrounded by tear gas or baton-wielding police officers.
Several teachers were arrested after clashes broke out between the police and teachers, with some demonstrators allegedly pelting the police with stones.
Those who managed to escape the teary mist of the tear-gas or the clutches of the police, regrouped and started to protest on the Bara Kahu Road, completely blocking it for traffic.
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) DC Hamza Shafqaat reached the spot and attempted to parley with the protesters. He said that teachers are respectable people and that he wants to hold peaceful dialogue with them. The ICT official further said that every citizen of the country has a right to protest but it is inappropriate to harass innocent commuters by blocking the road.
