Police intercept ASELS protest rally

KARACHI - To stop protesters march toward CM House, Police here on Thursday intercepted a protest rally of All Sindh Education Lower Staff (ASELS) by using water cannon and baton-charge while arresting and later releasing several. According to details, demanding regularisation of their jobs, a large number of the teachers hailing from various areas of Karachi and Interior Sindh were reached at Karachi Press Club (KPC) and took out a protest rally moving from KPC to the Sindh CM House. But heavy police contingents intercepted them on the road toward CM House and arrested several teachers. The protestors chanted slogans against the government. They were also chanting slogans for their regularisations and ending acute shortage of teachers in Sindh, besides giving facility of time-scale. Addressing the protesters, Central President of ASELS, Darya Khan Laghari said that the present democratic government had not given the permanent status to the contractual employees hired in 2007 for three years by the government in grad one to four. He demanded of the government to immediately grant a permanent status to the lower grade employees and teachers in Sindh. He also informed that since July no salary was paid to the teachers. While talking to The Nation, participants Asim salary of the contractual employees are too low as compare to regular employees of the education department. He said that over five hundred teachers in Karachi were deprived of extending their contracts. He said that officials in the CM House were wanting time for decision but ASELS vowed to continue sit-in till acceptance of their demands. He regretted the police took action against the peaceful rally of teachers and arrested several and beaten them with bamboo sticks resultantly dozen of teachers were critically injured.