As several teachers in Pakistan held a protest near Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in Bgala on Saturday to protest against the new regularisation policy of their department, police resorted to use of force by firing tear gas and baton-charging the protesters.
Police officers informed that a small unit succeeded in pushing back the protesters and getting the road leading to the premier's residence cleared, reported Dawn.
The area was later 'sealed' and given under the protection of a well-equipped police contingent that included personnel of the Counter-Terrorism Department and Anti-Riot Unit, while dozens of protesting teachers were detained in different police stations.
Four teachers had been arrested by the police for 'interfering' in the discharge of duties by government officials and for violating coronavirus safety protocols, reported The News International.
Opposition parties strongly condemned the police action against the protesting teachers and their arrest. Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) secretary-general Syed Nayyar Bukhari called for the immediate release of the detained teachers.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) information secretary Maryam Aurangzeb cornered PM Imran Khan, stating that he should be "ashamed" of the incident.
Up to 700 teachers from Punjab reached Islamabad and decided to march on Khan's house to hold a protest against the new regularisation policy of their department, which regularises the jobs of only those teachers who pass the examination of Public Service Commission and clear the interviews.
The protesters viewed this policy as 'unjust' as they have been working in their department on contract for several years.
Dozens of teachers were injured after a confrontation with the police, while reinforcements were called to the Bgala area and deployed to various locations.
The demonstrators also assembled at Mulpur Chowk to stage a sit-in protest, reported Dawn.
Meanwhile, Islamabad deputy commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqat reached the chowk to negotiate with the protesters, however the teachers refused to end their protest.
Shafqat told Dawn that the teachers were requested to move to the National Press Club, but they flatly refused. The Punjab government, he said, had already accepted a majority of the teachers' demands. The teachers wanted their jobs to be regularised and said they should be placed in grade 17.
Senior police officers opined that a large number of teachers managed to reach the Bgala area because police pickets on various roads had been removed recently.
( With inputs from ANI )
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