Double standards: PPP govt forgets ‘right to protest’ when it comes to their own

The teachers were appointed by a former PPP minister.

KARACHI:

All major thoroughfares going towards the Bilawal House were sealed on Wednesday as around 200 protesting schoolteachers attempted to march towards it.

They were representing the around 3,600 teachers who were appointed in June 2012 on the instructions of former education minister and a PPP stalwart, Pir Mazharul Haq, but later did not receive their salaries for the last two years.

Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) stalwarts have repeatedly urged the federal government to allow the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Awami Tehreek to organise protests in Islamabad's red zone. The party, however, found itself at the receiving end of criticism on Wednesday as their provincial government refused this 'right to protest' at the Bilawal House for the second time in four months. The protesters' movement was restricted to the Khayaban-e-Jami near Boat Basin.

"We can see the hypocrisy of these leaders who fail to keep up with their promises after pleading for votes and do not even allow us to protest peacefully at the PPP chairperson's residence," said Hasan Abbasi, who led the protesters.

"I admit that there is an apparent contradiction in the PPP's policies [for Islamabad and Sindh] but this is something that only the political leadership can explain," said an official of district South administration, who was at the venue to negotiate with the protesters. "We are here to follow the directives."

Several hours before the protesters showed up, information about a sit-in at an unannounced 'red zone' had prompted the authorities to place large containers and water tankers at the routes leading to the private residence of former President Asif Ali Zardari. The move disrupted routine life and caused unnecessary hindrance for the residents and commuters.

"Why does this government not let us live in peace?" questioned a disgruntled Clifton resident, Shahbaz Anwar, attempting to go through the blockade. "I have witnessed this blatant violation of public right of way for the second time in the last few months."

Meanwhile, the small number of protesters, realising the heavy police deployment, did not dare move forward, limiting themselves to shouting slogans against the government and the Sindh education department officials.

"I believe that the PPP government is responsible for our situation because one PPP education minister had issued us the appointment letters and now another PPP education minister has declared those appointments illegal," said Falak Naz Ibrahim, who has been teaching at Mir Ayub Khan Government Girls' School in Baghdadi, Lyari, for the last two years. "Why did the government issue us appointment letters when they couldn't pay our salaries?"

The protesters refused to negotiate with the government and the PPP officials who arrived at the sit-in. Abbasi took hold of the microphone at the stage improvised from a rented truck and announced that the sit-in will continue indefinitely till the government issued the notification to disburse their salaries.

"Let's not get deluded by their talks and pledges," he said. "Last time, it was [PPP MPA] Syed Owais Muzaffar and [South district deputy commissioner] Dr Mustafa Jamal Kazi, who assured us that we would get our salaries within 10 days."

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2014.