Sit-in: Protest against police over arrest of workers

FAISALABAD: Scores of kiln workers staged a protest demonstration on Monday against Satellite Town Jhang police for arresting two workers without giving any reason.

The protesters carried banners and placard carrying statements against police. They marched to Faisalabad Road Bypass Chowk, Chiniot Mor, and staged a sit-in there disrupting the traffic for several hours.

Speaking to the media, Jhang Bhatta Mazdoor Association senior vice president Shaukat Ali said the police had arrested Ghulam Akbar and his son Muhammad Aslam although they were not wanted for any crime. He alleged that the police had arrested them to please a kiln owner. “When we reached the police station, the SHO not only humiliated us but also threatened us with dire consequences,” he said. He demanded that police immediately release the two kiln workers.

The protesters also raised slogans against the police. A team from Satellite Town police station later visited the protesters and Ghulam Akbar was released. The policemen told the protesters that they had no knowledge about Muhammad Aslam.

When police asked the protesters to call off the sit-in, they refused. They said that they would not leave until Muhammad Aslam, too, was released.

Altaf Khan Naul, a local politician, visited the scene and assured the protesters that he would do his best to help release Muhammad Aslam. The kiln workers dispersed on receiving the assurance.

Katchi Abadi residents protest

Scores of resident of Katchi Abadi Phatak 8 also staged a protest demonstration on Monday against a revenue officer. They staged a sit-in at Zila Council Chowk disrupting the flow of traffic.

Federation of Katchi Abadis president Malik Bashir told the media that seven years ago, the district government had demolished 71 houses in Katchi Abadi Phatak 8 for widening a road. He said the government had promised to provide residential plots to the people displaced for the project. He said a former DCO had approved the plots for them but the patwari concerned had grabbed the land.

Bashir demanded that the government act against the revenue official and allot them the promised plots.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.