Muzaffarabad [PoK], February 26 : In response to the government's discriminatory policies against them, the Secretariat Employees Association of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has decided to go on strike.
According to Muhammad Sharif Awan, the president of the Secretariat Employees Association, Islamabad wants to fire Kashmiri workers to replace them with those from Pakistan. "We will organise a strike on February 29. I will see how many people will be removed by the Prime Minister in PoK. We are the residents of this region. We will confront them at this place only and we will face them with more strength" said Muhammad Sharif Awan.
The Association alleges that the employees in the occupied region are not receiving fair treatment when it comes to their allowance.
It claims that they only receive only half of the allowance as compared to provinces across Pakistan. "There is an issue for which we have been protesting and for the last one and half years we have been reminding the government of it. We have told senior ministers and chief secretary that the secretary allowance in all the four provinces has been increased from 50 per cent to 100 per cent. But still we are being given 50 per cent. So, we demand 100 percent allowance" said Sharif.
Members of the association are also annoyed as the employees in PoK are not being promoted to permanent positions. They claim that this was a deliberate attempt by Islamabad to keep them temporary.
"Lakhs of employees in the provinces were made permanent by making laws. Here we have people, who have completed over 20 years of service. Previously, the Pakistan government tried to make these employees permanent through an Act, but nothing has been done yet. For this, a committee was also made. The committee suggested that those who had completed 10 years of service and are above 40 years of age, should be made permanent. Eventually some developments were done but the entire process has been stopped now" he added.
The people in Pakistan occupied Kashmir are living a tough life with growing insecurity among all sections of the society.
Those who are working in government offices are victims of discrimination, which indicates the mistreatment of people in PoK by Islamabad.
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