QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani on Sunday constituted a parliamentary committee for holding negotiations with the government employees who have been staging a sit-in outside the Red Zone for about a week for acceptance of their demands.

Chief Secretary Mather Niaz Rana, the add­i­tional chief secretary home, finance se­c­retary and other officials and leaders of the coalition parties attended a meeting presided over by the chief minister and made suggestions for resolving the issue.

The parliamentary committee will meet the employees’ representatives and discuss with them their demands and their solutions.

The officials of finance and other departments briefed the meeting on Disputed Re­d­u­ction Allowance and reviewed the allo­w­a­nces given to employees of various departments to bridge the gap in their salaries.

The meeting was informed that over the past two-and-a-half years, the emp­l­o­yees have been given substantial relief in salaries, group insurance and pension and their other issues were resolved immediately. More than 3,000 group insurance cases have been resolved.

“By next June, the Group Insurance and Benevolent Fund will be fully automated,” the meeting was told.

The meeting was also apprised of the latest status of negotiations with the protesting employees. It was informed that the government was reviewing the legitimate demands of the employees.

CM Alyani said the previous governments had taken a tough stance against the employees and even kept them in jails.

“We have already acknowledged the demands of the employees and are still reviewing them sympathetically, but we have to come up with a solution acceptable to all,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2021