Govt employees in Pakistan continue protest in Balochistan for pay raise

Balochistan [Pakistan], April 1 : The protesting government employees in Pakistan's Balochistan province have continued their sit-in on the second consecutive day after negotiation failed between the government and their representatives.
The leaders of the protesting group told the Pakistani government officials on Wednesday that they would not abandon their protest until an official notification of a 25 per cent increase in their salaries is released, reported The Express Tribune.
A large number of employees have set up their sit-in camps on the roads linking the governor and chief minister houses.
Earlier this week, the provincial government in Balochistan imposed Section 144 in Quetta district for two weeks to ban all public gatherings after a sit-in protest call was given by the Teachers' Association against the government's failure to announce salary hikes.
Citing the rising COVID-19 cases, the provincial government in a notification on Sunday had banned the gathering of five or more people in Quetta, Dawn reported.
The order came amid the call for the protest given by the Teachers Association in Quetta over the issue of salary. On Sunday, a large number of teachers had reached Quetta to participate in the protest.
In February, hundreds of teachers had held a protest demanding salary hikes in Muzaffarabad city of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.