QUETTA: Opposition parties in the Balochistan Assembly have promised their full support to the protesting employees of the Balochistan Development Authority (BDA) who have been on hunger strike for the past three days against non-payment of their salaries and other issues.

The BDA employees are demanding payment of their six months’ salaries and regularisation of their services.

The condition of at least six hunger strikers became serious on Friday after which they were shifted to the civil hospital. The protesting BDA employees have set up their camp outside the Quetta Press Club.

Some leaders of the opposition parties met the protesting BDA employees on Friday and assured them of their support. They called upon the government to accept their demands.

The meeting which was presided over by opposition leader Advocate Malik Sikandar Khan discussed various issues.

Public Accounts Committee chairperson Akhtar Hussain Langove, Mohammad Akbar Mengal, Ahmed Nawaz Baloch, Nasarullah Zerey, Molvi Noorullah, Asghar Tareen and other members of the opposition parties attended the meeting.

The meeting expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of the protesting BDA employees. They urged the provincial government to regularise the services of the BDA’s contract employees.

The meeting rejected the government’s notification regarding merger of Levies Force with the police department in three districts of Balochistan. It urged the government to take back the notification and restore Levies Force in Gwadar, Quetta and Lasbela districts.

The meeting was informed that one of the coalition partners of the provincial government had challenged in the court the government’s decision of merging Levies Force with the police department.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2019