The federal capital remained on edge on Wednesday as government employees seeking pay raise launched a massive protest against the government.
The protest by the employees continued late into the night as talks with the authorities remained inconclusive till filing of this report. In the afternoon, Islamabad police resorted to tear gas shelling near the Pakistan Secretariat as they tried to push back the workers. Several employees were arrested and those stuck in the Secretariat Block broke the door to escape. Protests are being held at several points in the capital city, including Constitution Avenue, outside Secretariat Block and the Cabinet Block. The protesters also march towards the Parliament House. Police placed containers on the roads, sealing off D-Chowk. Reports of the arrests of APGE leader Rehman Bajwa, Banaras Jadoon and Jawed Sanjera also emerged.
The government employees are protesting against the government over different issues. The All Pakistan Government Employees Association (APGE) and All Pakistan Teachers Association groups are calling for regularisation of contractual employees and are protesting against disparity in salaries. The employees are protesting against income disparities between various federal government employees. They have been demanding a 40% increase in their salaries. The protesters have received support from government employees over grade 17, who have also demanded an increase in their salaries. The All Pakistan Clerks Association and government employees of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh are also supporting the protest.
Reports said a two-member committee, comprising interior and defence ministers, tasked with dealing with the protestors is in contact with the finance ministry over the raise. Reports said that the committee has recommended that there should be an increase of 25% in the salaries of officers from grade 1-16 on an ad hoc basis.
Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto condemned the arrests and ‘violence’ of the law enforcement agencies against government employees. In a statement issued by PPP’s media cell, the party chairman demanded the government to accept the legitimate demands of the government employees and release all arrested individuals. “Instead of listening to the demands of poor employees, the state has resorted to using power against them,” he said, adding that the PPP had ‘doubled’ employees’ salaries during its term.
Claiming that the incumbent government has made a record increase in the electricity prices instead of giving incentives to employees, he said that he stands in solidarity with the protesters.
Condemning the attack on protesters, former president Asif Ali Zardari also said that PM Imran Khan ‘cannot do anything for the masses except exploiting them’.
Akin to the PPP, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz asked the authorities to stop using tear gas shelling and sticks to disperse the protesters. “For God’s sake, stop this merciless torture,” Maryam Nawaz tweeted. “These are not the enemies, but poor Pakistanis demanding their rights.”
