SWAT: The Swat chapters of All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA), Public Health Workers Union and Sub-Engineers Association staged a protest demonstration against the federal budget for fiscal year 2020-21 in Mingora here on Wednesday.

Holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans against the government, the protesters started their march from the PHED office in Saidu Sharif and gathered in front of Swat Press Club where they chanted slogans against the government for presenting a budget based on what they called unjust policies.

The protest demonstration was led by Swat chapter APCA president Ali Rahman, Public Health Workers Union’s general secretary Subhan Ali Khan and Sub-Engineers Association’s representative Shujaul Mulk.

They said the federal government failed to give relief to the people and instead had further disturbed the government employees by not increasing their salaries.

“We do not accept the recent budget which is based on injustice with the government employees. Prices of all essential commodities have gone up almost 300 times, but no increase has been made in the salaries for which the government employees waited the whole year,” said Ali Rahman.

Subhan Ali said the present government had been making false promises with the nation and its own employees.

The protesters said the government increased the salaries of elected representatives by 300 per cent, but it had ignored the government employees.

“This cruel government only knows how to snatch and beg. Following its culture, it snatched the rights of government employees by ignoring them in the budget. We will never accept this budget until salaries of all government employees are increased,” said Shujaul Mulk. He said the government employees would continue their protest until they were given due relief.

They said that they would launch a protest movement against the government if it did not double their salaries.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2020