QUETTA: The protesting government employees ended their 12-day sit-in on Friday night on the order of the Balochistan High Court (BHC), which also directed the negotiating team of the provincial government and leaders of the employees’ grand alliance to hold talks for resolution of the issue.

The leaders of the employees’ grand alliance announced ending the sit-in and postponing their protest for one month. They said that if the issue of pay raise was not resolved they would restart their protest.

Soon after the end of the sit-in, negotiations between the government committee comprising provincial ministers and senior officials and the grand alliance leaders started and continued till late night.

A BHC division bench comp­­rising Chief Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Kamran Khan Mullahkhail, while hearing a constitutional petition filed by the Quetta Bar Associa­tion president, expressed concern over the government’s attitude of not paying any attention to the protests of the government employees who were demanding increase in their salaries.

The petitioner said the sit-in of the government employees was causing great difficulties for the people of Quetta.

The court directed the grant alliance leaders to immediately end their sit-in and hold negotiations with the government officials concerned.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Mandokhail observed: “The government constitutes committees when it does not want to resolve any issue.”

Expressing his dismay over the attitude of the protesting employees and the government, he said that they should show flexibility in their attitude during negotiations. He urged the provincial government to resol­­ve the issue of its employees according to the law.

Advocate General Arab Tahir Kasi informed the court that the government had formed two teams to hold negotiations with the protesting employees.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2021