RAWALPINDI, Dec 5: The People’s Rights Movement held a meeting with trade union representatives from Pakistan Railways, students and other political activists at Carriage Factory Colony here on Thursday.

According to a press release of PRM, the meeting deliberated on the country’s current political situation and the on-going struggle of teachers, doctors and small powerloom owners in Punjab.

According to the sources in PRM, the Pakistan Railways workers described heaved a sigh of relief that former ISI director general Javed Ashraf Qazi was no longer the minister in charge of railways. They termed the past three years a period of fear and intimidation for the workers, largely because of presence of the vigilance cell staffed by the ISI employees.

Javed Ashraf Qazi’s background as former head of the ISI facilitated the formation of this vigilance cell. The number of forced retirements, termination of services and other anti-worker measures over the past three years was unprecedented.

Unionists from all of railways factories and operations in Rawalpindi urged the new railways minister to demilitarise the entire organisation.

Students from local colleges expressed their disappointment at General Musharraf’s recent announcement that the model university ordinance would not be repealed. The People’s Rights Movement representatives Asha Amir Ali and Asim Sajjad described their recent visit to Multan and their meeting with the powerlooms association that is struggling against exorbitant electricity tariffs.