June 29, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 24, 1429

SHEIKHUPURA, June 28: The National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) on Saturday terminated thousands of its employees across the country after the federal government denied releasing funds to run the commission. A large number of sacked employees from this district took out a protest demonstration from NCHD office to the local press club here on Saturday. They chanted slogans and demanded their immediate reinstatement.

Talking to reporters in front of the press club, district literacy officers Shafique Ahmed, Rana Adeel Arif, Nabi Ahmed, Imran Shah, Mohammad Afzal and others said that due to non-issuance of funds by the federal government, the NCHD had terminated 22,404 employees across the country, including Sheikhupura.

They said that in the wake of this decision, thousands of workers would become unemployed and their families would have to suffer a lot. They appealed to Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to look into the matter and release funds to the NCHD to save the future of thousands of youths.—Correspondent