KARAK: The Banda Daud Shah police on Thursday arrested more than 100 workers of MOL Pakistan, a foreign oil and gas exploration company, for protesting at the main gates of the Central Processing Facility Makori here.

Local residents later blocked the Kohat-Bannu Road for hours against arrests and burned old tyres.

The MOL Pakistan daily-wage workers had been on strike for several weeks to demand better wages and permanent jobs.

On Thursday morning, workers blocked the facility’s main gates and thus, restricting the movement of MOL Pakistan officials and vehicles.

The police later showed up and arrested more than 100 protesters and shifted them to Karak, Sabirabad, Band Daud Shah and other police stations in the district for interrogation. They also cleared the way to facility.

However, the arrests angered local residents, who took the streets and blocked the Kohat-Bannu GT Road to demand the immediate unconditional release of workers.

The people alleged that the MOL Pakistan exploited their rights and had been denying permanent jobs to daily wagers for years.

The road blockade continued for hours to the misery of motorists and commuters.

The protesters and tehsil administration’s officials held talks, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, the Karak police on Thursday announced they had arrested four people in the district for declining vaccination of their children against polio.

They told reporters here that the arrested men were sent to the DI Khan prison under Section 3 Maintenance and Public Order and that more arrests over vaccination refusal were expected.

The police said the arrests were made in Chountra, Kanda Karak and Tordhand areas.

They said a total of 300 parents in the district had declined the administering of anti-polio drops and other vaccines to their children but 230 of them were later persuaded by the health department for vaccination.

The police added that 70 parents remained adamant, so they were likely to be arrested before being jailed for violating the mandatory vaccination law.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2016