Pakistan: Balochistan govt employees announce pen-down strike over pending allowance demands

Quetta, Dec 29 (IANS) The Grand Alliance of Balochistan government employees on Monday announced a pen-down strike to hold a protest for their demands, including payment of a Disparity Reduction Allowance, local media reported.

In a statement, Balochistan Grand Alliance General Secretary Ali Asghar Bangulzai stated that the protest of the employees has entered the second phase due to the “government’s apathy and incompetence,” Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported.

He stated that the government employees’ organisations linked to Balochistan Grand Alliance will hold a pen-down strike on Monday, followed by a complete lockdown of all government institutions in the province on December 30 and 31.

He announced that the emergency services in the health department will remain operational during the protest.

Earlier in October, security personnel in Pakistan’s Kalat recently held a protest against the Balochistan government’s decision to integrate the Levies Force into the police department, local media reported.

Levies personnel held protests across Balochistan after the provincial government issued a notification announcing the merger. Members of the Levies Force held a rally in Kalat, which commenced at the Levies Headquarters and passed through Shahi Bazaar, Hospital Road, Harboi Road, Darbar Road, and other main areas before returning to the headquarters, The Balochistan Post reported.

Holding placards against the integration of the two forces, the protesters shouted slogans against the merger of the Levies Force into the police.

While addressing the protesters, Levies officers and personnel said the Levies force has a 142-year history and has played an important role in maintaining law and order in Balochistan, with many members losing their lives while performing their duty.

They said that a similar merger attempt in the past was unsuccessful and warned that repeating the same move would fail again.

The speakers requested the Balochistan government to implement the High Court’s stay order on the merger and immediately withdraw the recently issued notification.

According to an official notification issued on October 16, the Balochistan government, after getting nod from the provincial cabinet, merged the provincial and federal levies forces with the police in six out of seven administrative divisions of the province, declaring these divisions as A-Areas, Dawn reported.

The six divisions where the merger of the Levies force and police has been approved include Quetta, Rakhshan, Kalat, Makran, Zhob and Nasirabad.

However, the levies force in Sibi division, which includes Sibi, Kohlu, Dera Bugti, Harnai and Ziarat districts, has not been integrated into the Balochistan police.

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