ISLAMABAD, June 21: The employees of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) on Friday continued their protest against non-payment of salaries for months.

They have also closed 25 PTDC motels in the northern areas of the country.

In Islamabad, 66 employees posted at the PTDC office at Margalla Road have launched a protest in front of the Super Market.

One of the protesters said 450 regular employees of the PTDC had not been paid salaries. “There are employees who have not received their salaries for 16 months; some haven’t been paid for 14 months.”

He said the PTDC motels in Naran, Balakot, Gilgit, Hunza, Sust, Gupis, Phandar and Chitral have been closed by the employees. The protesters have disconnected electricity supply to the motels. They are even not allowing tourists to stay in the motels.

Nadeem Abbasi, a faculty member at the Arid Agriculture University Rawalpinid, who is currently visiting Naran, told Dawn on phone that the staff at the PTDC rest house in Naran did not allow him to enter the premises. “Being a government servant myself, I can imagine that no one can work without a salary.”

Managing Director PTDC Mir Shahjahan Khetran could not be contacted for comments.