PESHAWAR, June 17: The Frontier Cooperative Bank Officers Association (FCBOA) and NWFP Cooperative Bank Employees Union (NCBEU) on Sunday warned that they will begin a long march and stage sit-in before the presidency in Islamabad on June 24, if the NWFP government failed to withdraw its decision to liquidate the bank.

According to a press release, a meeting of the organizations, presided over by Mohammad Ibraheem of the FCBOA, discussed the situation arising out of  the liquidation, which had rendered a large number of employees unemployed.

The speakers said the NWFP governor had ordered liquidation of the bank one-and-a-half year back and since then the employees had been living a miserable life.

They said the employees were not conveyed whether their services had been terminated, they had been expelled or retired, and they were not extended any financial benefit, including golden handshake.

They said the bank had been serving the farmer community for the last 60 years and extending them loans for purchase of seed, fertilizers and agricultural machinery.

They said the bank was not a burden on the provincial exchequer, but the government decided to render a large number of people unemployed.

They warned that if the bank was not restored within a week and they were not given employment, they would start a long march towards Islamabad.