Pakistan rights group backs Balochistan employees' demand for pay raise

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Saturday came out in support of protesting government employees in Pakistan's Balochistan province as they continue to hold their sit-in following failed negotiation between the government and their representatives over the issue of salary hike.

"HRCP stands in solidarity with the Balochistan Employees and Workers Grand Alliance. Their sit-in to demand a pay raise in the face of spiralling inflation is now in its fifth day and the government must listen," HRCP tweeted.

The leaders of the protesting group told the Pakist government officials that they would not abandon their protest until official notification of a 25 per cent increase in their salaries is released, The Express Tribune reported.

A large number of employees have set up their sit-in camps on the roads linking the governor and chief minister houses.

Earlier this week, the provincial government in Balochistan imposed Section 144 in Quetta district for two weeks to ban all public gatherings after a sit-in protest call was given by the Teachers' Association.

Citing the rising COVID-19 cases, the provincial government in a notification on Sunday had banned the gathering of five or more people in Quetta, Dawn reported.

The order came amid the call for the protest given by the Teachers Association in Quetta over the issue of salary. On Sunday, a large number of teachers had reached Quetta to participate in the protest.

In February, hundreds of teachers had held a protest demanding salary hikes in Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

( With inputs from ANI )