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| The police personnel, clad in riot gear, far outnumbered the protesters near Bilawal House. PHOTO: NNI |
The situation that disrupted routine life and caused immense suffering to the residents and commuters was caused by around 100 protesting teachers, who prompted the authorities to barricade all the routes leading to Bilawal House with large containers, water tankers and even cut-off tree branches.
The contingents of police clad in riot-gear far outnumbered the protesters as they kept a vigilant eye on anyone wanting to enter the enclave they were tasked to secure. A water-cannon was also stationed at the Boat Basin front, ready to wash the protesters out if they dared to move toward the unannounced ‘red zone’.
The protesters, sensing the precarious situation, constrained themselves to shouting slogans against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government for what they termed was ‘not keeping up with its promises after pleading for votes.’
The teachers were representing around 3,600 people who were appointed in June 2012 on the instructions of former education minister and a PPP stalwart, Pir Mazharul Haq, during his tenure, but did not receive their salaries for the last 20 months.
“We chose Bilawal House as the venue for our 56th protest because one PPP education minister issued us the appointment letters and now another PPP education minister, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, is declaring our appointments illegal,” said Abu Bakar Abro, who was leading the protest.
Meanwhile, the barricades that were stretched at one end from the Boat Basin to the other at Jehangir Kothari Parade had virtually held hostage a couple of thousand students at the schools located along Khayaban-e-Saadi.
“This is a sheer violation of the public’s right of way,” said a fuming Munnazza Iqbal, a mother who wanted to pick her children from Falconhouse Grammar School. She was told by the police personnel to take an alternative route or walk from Boat Basin.
Even Clifton SHO Ghazala Syed admitted that the blockades were an overkill. “The school children, commuters and a majority of residents could have been saved from suffering by placing the barriers in a systematic manner,” she told The Express Tribune. “The security plan on such occasions is, however, designed by secret agencies and we merely receive deployment orders.”
A number of students who had to take their Cambridge IGCSE’s Urdu exam at Karachi Grammar School had to leave their vehicles at Khayaban-e-Jami intersection and walk the rest of the distance in the scorching heat.
At the barricades placed at Sharae Firdousi, 70-year-old Shahidullah was pleading with the police personnel to let him drive his car till South City Hospital where his wife was about to have a surgical procedure. The police later removed the barricades after several hours as the protesters dispersed after negotiations with district South deputy commissioner Dr Mustafa Jamal Kazi. He assured to redress their grievances within 10 days, after speaking to PPP MPA Syed Owais Muzaffar over the phone.
(By Noman Ahmed) Published in GNN & Tribune, May 8th, 2014.
