Balochistan University employees' protest enters Day 72 amid financial crisis

Quetta [Pakistan], May 22 : The students, teachers, and employees of the Balochistan University of Quetta organised protests over the non-payment of salaries and administrative irregularities, reported The Balochistan Post.
Being organized at the entry gate of the university premises and being led by the Joint Action Committee of Balochistan University the protest has reportedly continued for over 70 days.
The protesting employees have raised complaints that the financial crisis of the university has led to the non-payment of their salaries and pensions, continuing for a very long time. Additionally, the protestors also demanded that the university administration provide them with a permanent resolution to the problem and compensate the protestors for what they have lost.
Moreover, the protestors now plan to move the camp to Sariab Road on Thursday blocking the road to raise their demands, the report by The Balochistan Post claimed.
The spokesperson of the protestor committee demanded that the CM and the Government of Balochistan take the matter seriously. The protestors also demanded that the university be allocated at least PKR 10 billion in the upcoming annual budget and an additional PKR five billion to pay the endowment funds.
Last month, the employees of the same university organized a march on different roads of Pakistan's Quetta and staged a sit-in protest over the non-payment of their salary for the past four months. At that time the protestors had questioned why funds were not being released when funds for all other departments were always released. Before that the hundreds of teachers and staff members of Balochistan University held a sit-in in front of the Balochistan Assembly.
The protesters said that the non-payment of salaries had caused great financial difficulties for them. They assembled at the university and then took out a rally, which passed through the main Sariab Road, Jinnah Road, Zarghoon Road and then reached Quetta.
Teachers, along with members of staff of the Balochistan University, set up a camp outside the assembly gate to block the entry of individuals into the premises. However, people used alternative gates to enter the provincial assembly.
Additionally, the committee held talks with the joint action committee leaders. Informing the committee about their grievances, the protesters said that university employees, including teaching staff, have not received salaries, which caused financial difficulties.