PESHAWAR: Hundreds of government employees from across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province staged a sit-in outside the provincial assembly here on Wednesday to demand a 30pc disparity reduction allowance, as announced by the federal government.

On the call of the All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA), the employees gathered at the Government Higher Secondary School No 1 Peshawar City on the GT Road in the morning.

In the afternoon, they marched on the GT Road to reach the Khyber Road outside the provincial assembly where they staged a sit-in, which continued until 8pm.

This was the third such protest since the provincial budget was presented in the assembly on June 13.

On Monday, police used tear gas to disperse the protesting government employees from outside the provincial assembly.

The prolonged closure of the Khyber Road, the main artery linking GT Road with the University Road, heaped misery on motorists and commuters, who remained stuck in a traffic jam for several hours. Also, a large number of vehicles were forced to take long detours.

Azizullah Khan, president of All Primary Teachers Association, told Dawn that talks were held with adviser to the chief minister on finance Muzammil Aslam on Tuesday but they didn’t bear fruit due to the adviser’s refusal to accept the demand for the 30pc disparity reduction allowance, as announced by the centre.

“The AGEGA gave the call for protest only after the talks failed,” he said.

Mr Khan, however, said that on Wednesday, a government team comprising ministers Major Sajjad and Meena Khan Afridi and MPA Fazal Elahi met with the AGEGA leadership and agreed that if the federal government notified the disparity reduction allowance, the provincial government would follow suit.

He said that the team refused to offer those assurances in writing.

The association leader said that after the protesters didn’t accept verbal promises, MPA Haji Fazal Ealhi assured them of getting those in writing on Thursday (today), prompting the mob to disperse at around 8pm.

“We all will meet the government’s representatives in the provincial assembly on Thursday [today] to secure written assurances. Also,the AGEGA Action Committee will meet on the day to chalk out the future course of action,” he said.

Mr Khan warned that if the demands were not accepted, the protest would continue.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2025