QUETTA: The president of Pakistan People’s Party, Balochistan, Mir Sadiq Ali Umrani and Vice President Senator Rozi Khan Kakar have condemned firing on the PIA employees in Karachi and termed it a brutal act against the people protesting for their rights.

They said it was the right of labour unions to defend the interest of employees. The employees were protesting against the proposed privatisation of the national flag carrier as the rulers allegedly wanted to sell the national institution to their favourites at a throwaway price which the workers were resisting.

“Denying the right to strike and protest is against the Constitution ,” said Sadiq Umrani, adding that PPP would never allow the rulers to make thousands of PIA employees jobless.

Senator Rozi Khan Kakar said that through privatisation, the PML-N government wanted to deprive PIA employees of their jobs. He said that it was PPP who provided jobs to the people while PML-N deprived them of jobs whenever it came to power.

He assured the PIA employees that PPP and its leadership would not abandon them in their ongoing struggle.

In Quetta PIA employees continued their protest and boycotted the offices on Thursday. Flight operation also remained suspended at Quetta airport. A private airline flight to Quetta was also cancelled and air link of entire Balochistan with rest of the country remained cut-off.

The striking employees also protested outside the main PIA office here. Leaders and workers of All Pakistan Workers Federation, WAPDA Hydro Electric Union, BDA employees and Railway Labour Union also participated in the protest demonstration to express their solidarity with the employees of PIA.

Addressing the protest rally, their leaders said that they would not tolerate privatisation of PIA at any cost.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2016