June 03, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1429

NAWABSHAH, June 2: Pakistan Post employees observed strike across the district and held a demonstration outside the GPO here on Monday to protest against police for refusing to register an FIR of a robbery incident.

Hundreds of employees of Pakistan Post observed strike in the General Post Office, seven town offices and 21 branch offices throughout the district. Later, a large number of the employees, carrying placards and raising slogans against police, held a protest demonstration outside the GPO.

They told journalists that Rs300,000 cash of Pakistan Post was snatched from an employee, Mohammed Yasin, in Gharibabad on May 22 when he was coming to the GPO to deposit the amount.

They said that when Yasin approached police, they refused to register the case and arrested him. They added that police were raiding the houses of other Pakistan Post employees.

They urged police high ups to direct police to register the FIR, arrest the culprits and stop harassing the employees.

EXTORTION: Residents of Syedabad Mohalla of old Nawabshah have called upon the authorities to take action against a police official accused of blackmailing innocent people and collecting extortions.

Speaking at a press conference here on Monday, Rao Mohammed Iqbal, Saifal Khan and others said that inspector Sikandar Ali Waggan, presently posted at Nawabshah Police Lines, regularly visited their area and frequented a barber shop.

They said that the police officer through a gang of informers collected information about businessmen and naive people of the area. They said that the police officer called people through his mobile phone, threatened them with implication in concocted criminal cases and asked for money.

They called on the chief minister and IG of Sindh and the district police Officer to take action against the officer and order an inquiry into his activities.

DEMO: Contractual employees of the Sindh Water Management Project held a demonstration outside the press club here on Monday, demanding regularisation of their jobs.

The protesters told journalists that 250 people, including women, had been working in the project on contract basis for the last four years and the duration of the contract was to expire in June 2008.

They said that a summary for regularisation of their jobs was lying in the office of the Sindh chief secretary for the last six months but no decision had been taken on it.

Recently, the summary had been sent to the Sindh chief minister, they said and expressed the hope that the elected government would provide them permanent jobs.

They appealed to Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to regularize their jobs and save their families from hunger.

Meanwhile, activists of All Pakistan Clerks Association, Population Welfare Department unit, observed pen-down strike and held a demonstration here on Monday to pressurise the authorities to accept their demands.

The employees demanded of the minister for population welfare to accept their charter of demands, which included cancellation of deputation of employees of other departments in their department, jobs for issues of deceased employees, regularisation of contractual employees, release of benevolent fund of the employees and promotions.