PESHAWAR: Physically-challenged persons on Tuesday held a protest demonstration against police for forcing them to pay bribe while they transported goods on motorcycles from Karkhano market to the Peshawar city.

The protesters, holding placards inscribed with demands for provision of justice and jobs, also shouted slogans against the police.

The protesters marched from the Peshawar Press Club to the building of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly where they observed a sit-in for some hours to draw attention of the lawmakers on the occasion of the presidential election.

Talking to mediapersons on the occasion, representatives of the protesters — Najeebullah Sadiq and Shakoor Khan — said that they had done nothing wrong but were earning livelihood for their families by transporting various goods from Karkhano to Peshawar markets.

They accused the Hayatabad police of forcing them to pay bribe or stop the shipment of different goods like cloth, electronic appliances, crockery and other items of routine use.

“We are physically handicapped and have no other source of income to feed our children. The government should give us alternative source of income or allow us to continue our work,” a protester pleaded.

The police, they said, had nothing to do with goods checking as it was duty of the customs department officials.

They said customs department officials knew about their physical inability and thus avoided taking action against them.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2018