Brutality: Police baton charge protesting prison warders

Demonstrators demand immediate reinstatement.

PESHAWAR: As scores of prison warders protested outside the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly building on Tuesday, the police resorted to baton charge to disperse them and clear Khyber Road for traffic.

The agitated warders protested and blocked the road following the cancellation of their recruitment for prisons across the province. On Monday, the government had issued a notification revoking the recruitment of 796 prison warders over mismanagement and irregularities in hiring.

The protesters shouted slogans against the government and demanded they be reinstated immediately. The agitated warders said the PTI-led government had failed to keep its promise of creating jobs for the province’s people.

According to the demonstrators, they were appointed on merit and had worked for a month before the government took this decision. They accused the government of discriminating against them and revoking their appointment “without giving any reason”.

Khyber Road, a major thoroughfare of the city, remained blocked for several hours, causing problems for commuters and forcing the police to step in. “We received orders from senior officials to reopen the road. We did not have any other option but to baton charge,” said a police official.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 18^th, 2015.