TIMERGARA: The Lower Dir chapter of the paramedical association and class-IV employees on Tuesday boycotted duties at all the health units, including the district headquarters hospital, to protest the income tax deduction from their salaries.

The protesters marched from the DHQ hospital to the Shaheed Chowk, in front of the press club.

Speaking on the occasion, district president of paramedics association Malak Khurshed Iqbal demanded of the government to approve rescue health professional allowance for all employees of the health department which had been approved only for doctors.

He noted that Malakand division was a tax-free zone and the government should at once exempt all employees of the division from income tax and return to them all charges deducted from their salaries so far.

The paramedics boycotted their duties at BHUs, RHCs and THQ hospitals. Male and female nursing staff also joined the protest. The protesting employees said they didn’t want to inconvenience patients and their relatives, but it was the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government that had forced them on the roads.

They demanded of the government to review the decision of income tax deduction from their salaries and remove all ‘shortcomings’ in their service structure.

SCHOOLS’ SECURITY: To ensure foolproof security of all schools, the Balambat tehsil council on Tuesday formed special committees consisting of village council nazims. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by nazim Imranuddin.

Imranuddin assured that the local government representatives would extend all-out support to the law enforcement agencies for security of schools.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2016