Sacked policemen demand reinstatement

50 men taken into custody during protest by officers outside press club

KARACHI: Policemen arrested their former colleagues, who were protesting at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday for their reinstatement.

A total of 50 protesters were arrested and were later shifted to Chakiwara and Kalakot police stations.

The protesters, who included hundreds of policemen, demanded they should be reinstated as they have served their time while serving the masses in police uniform.



A senior police official, who was not a part of the protest but had arrived to control the protesters, told The Express Tribune that the protesting policemen were removed from their jobs in 2012 and 2014 over allegations of political appointments. However, later their qualifying tests were conducted again and out of around 2,000 men, only 160 were able to pass the test and were reinstated.

"We served for more than two years, passed a difficult test and were a part of difficult training courses. However, we were victimised and now we are struggling financially," lamented a protestor, Raheem Soomro.

Another protester, Allah Buksh, said that they wanted employment. During the process of retesting, the test was made so difficult for us that eventually we failed and those who didn't want us in the department, succeeded, Buksh said.



Later, a senior leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Haleem Adil Sheikh, also joined the protesters. He criticised the provincial government, saying that there is no merit in the province and this protest reflected the anti-merit policy of the provincial government.

Sheikh also said that these policemen were recruited after paying heavy bribes by selling their jewellery and cattle as they had no other options for getting jobs. However, later they were kicked out of the department without a realisation of how deep their financial problems could be.