Up in arms: Govt staffers knock on K-P Assembly’s door for help

Employees urge CM Khattak to fulfil promotion promises.

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s technical and non-technical staffers of Grade-1 to Grade-16 flocked to the provincial legislature, protesting for promotions on Tuesday.

Government officials, under the support of All Technical and Non-technical Government Employees Coordination Council K-P chapter took to the streets against what they called Chief Minister Pervez Khattak’s failure to fulfil his promises.

Demonstrations in the city began at 11am when protesters from K-P government’s 29 departments and universities gathered under the newly-constructed Mufti Mahmood Flyover. Khyber Road remained obstructed for over four hours and the protest subsequently resulted in a massive traffic gridlock on Shami Road and Sher Shah Suri Road.

Led by council president Malik Naveed, they waited for provincial senior officials to show up and negotiate. Sensing government apathy towards the issue, scores of protesting workers marched towards the CM House, only to be contained by rushing contingents of security forces. Some of the protesters broke through the barriers, compelling officials to open aerial fire.

Failing to reach Khattak’s official residence, they swarmed outside the K-P Assembly.

“We want the CM to fulfil promotion promises he made six months ago,” said Abdul Sattar Hoti, the association’s vice president, adding protests will continue till their demands are met.

“We want the government to upgrade Class-IV employees to Grade-VII like the clerical staff was promoted,” said Municipal Corporation Peshawar (MCP) worker Mohammad Fazil, adding all employees have abandoned work in protest. “We worked until 10am after which we boycotted the proceedings,” he maintained. “We called the protest off because the situation was slipping out of control and security officials had opened fire,” he said.

The council has called a meeting at the MCP office on Wednesday, to formulate a future roadmap.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 22^nd, 2015.