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July 24, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 20, 1429

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PESHAWAR, July 23: In a day that could only be termed as a day of nothing but protests, a number of government employees’ associations and other groups including flour mill owners and students set up protest camps and observed token hunger strike to highlight their demands here on Wednesday.

CLERKS’ PEN DOWN: The Clerks Association resorted to pen down strike and did not attend their offices in different government departments. They also observed a token hunger strike outside the provincial assembly for solution of their demands.

They were carrying banners and placards inscribed with demands like 20 per cent special allowance, 10 per cent utility allowance and allotment of plots in Regi Model Township etc.

Speakers, Zakirulah, Syed Faiz Ali Shah, Sharafat Hussain, Mohammad Aslam Khan, and others said that the NWFP chief minister had assured them of solution to their problems, but he did not keep his words.

The said that the hunger strike would continue on Thursday and no clerk would attend offices. They said that next line of action would be decided in Thursday’s meeting.

FLOUR MILLERS: Owners of various flour mills also set up a protest camp outside the Peshawar Press Club against the ban on supply of wheat from Punjab and condemned the Punjab government’s decision.

The protesters said that due to the ban, over half of the flour mills in the NWFP had already closed and the remaining would also close, if the ‘discriminatory policies’ continued further.

They vowed to continue their protest for three consecutive days till July 25 and maintained that they would decide future line of action, if the Punjab government did not lift the ban.

STUDENTS’ DEMO: The students of Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency staged a protest demonstration outside the press club for getting admissions in various government colleges in the Peshawar district.

The students, who were chanting slogans against heads of various government colleges for what they said denial to give them admissions in first year, said that they wanted to get education, but the government was denying them an opportunity.

In the Bara Tehsil, they said there was only one college, which had only 160 seats in first year and could not cater to the ever-increasing number of students and the only solution to the problem was that they be allowed admission in colleges in the city on merit basis.

They said that former NWFP governor, Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai, had assured them of solution to their problem, but to no avail.

DRIVERS’ HUNGER STRIKE: The drivers of Works and Services Department of Fata also observed a token hunger strike in a camp outside the press club against the sacking of 23 drivers of the department.

They said the services of 23 drivers had been terminated for the reasons best known to the officials concerned.

“We were assured about the reinstatement of our services, but the file was put in cold storage and delaying tactics are being used in this regard,” they said.

The protestors said that they would continue their protest till reinstatement.

SCHOOLTEACHERS: The ad hoc subject specialists and candidates for various categories of schoolteachers also continued their protest.

Expressing their shock over the termination of their services, the subject specialists said that they were appointed on basis of merit, but their services were terminated without any prior notice being served to them.

While the candidates for the teachers’ posts in the education department said that the government was intentionally depriving them of the posts, despite being approved by the concerned officials.

TRANSPORTERS: Various transporters’ associations on Wednesday took out protest processions and staged demonstration outside the Peshawar Press Club here against the hike in prices of petroleum products.

The truckers’ procession was led by leaders of All Goods Transport Owners Association and Peshawar Goods Carriers Association. The truckers in a long queue were coming from Ring Road that police tried to stop them at the FC Chowk.

About two dozen truckers succeeded in reaching the area outside the Cantt Railways Station, but the rest of vehicles were stopped before reaching the FC Chowk, who blocked the road, which caused severe traffic jam on the road near Civil Quarters Road.

Transporters’ leaders Malik Mohammad Khan, Mohammad Younus Khan and Haji Raj Wali rejected the government claim that 50 per cent subsidy was being paid on fuel.