SWAT: The government employees organised a rally here on Thursday to lodge their protest against the newly-introduced pension reforms.

The rally was held on the call of All Government Employees Grand Alliance. The protesters said that 35 per cent deduction from pension in the name of reforms was not acceptable to them.

The protesters gathered at Mulababa school and marched towards Swat Press Club. They chanted slogans in favour of their demands.

AGEGA chairman Akhtar Hussain, patron-in-chief Humayun Mehboob, patron Hafiz Mohammad Ali, All Drawing Master Association provincial president Basheer Ahmad, All PETs Association district president Ehsanullah, All Primary Teachers Association Swat senior vice president Roshan Ali, All Pakistan Teachers Association president Nawab Ali, Malik Khalid Khan and Maulana Salahuddin addressed the rally.

Say 35pc deduction from pension not acceptable to them

They said that government had recently introduced pension reforms that were not acceptable to them. They said 35 per cent deduction the pension of government employees was injustice. They added that the decision was not acceptable to government employees.

The speakers said that provincial government must pay all the arrears of conveyance allowance to employees in lump sum.

TREES: The elders of Swat and Shangla districts have said that trees on privately owned lands are cut with the government’s permission, but some elements have launched propaganda against them on social media.

Led by Ajmal Khan, Fazal Kamal, Fazal Raziq, Zafar Ali, Hazrat Nabi, and Wali Khan from both districts, the elders told journalists in Swat Press Club that according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wood Lot Policy, forest owners were legally allowed to cut few trees on their lands.

“The government plants trees on our lands for which we have to wait for 40 years. We also take care and look after these trees and whenever the height of a tree reaches 22 inches, it is our legal right to cut and sell it to earn livelihood,” they said, adding that they could only cut the trees after the approval of patwari and forest officer.

“We have provided land to the forest department and it is our right to get royalty, but now we have learnt that the government is taking away this royalty from us. If the government wants to take the royalty from us then it should also remove the trees from our lands too,” they said.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2023