The All Pakistan Professors and Lecturers Association (APPLA) on Monday strongly condemned the forced retirement of college teachers in Balochistan and demanded their immediate reinstatement, describing the disciplinary actions as unjust and detrimental to academic freedom.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, APPLA President Prof Munawar Abbas said employees’ organisations had always worked for the protection of workers’ rights through dialogue and peaceful protest, adding that soaring inflation had made it increasingly difficult for salaried employees, particularly teachers, to make ends meet.
He said the Balochistan Professors and Lecturers Association (BPLA), along with other government employees’ organisations, had launched a protest movement in support of the Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA) and other demands. The campaign was met with arrests and administrative action, including the detention of BPLA President Prof Abdul Qadoos Kakar and several other government employees.
Prof Abbas said a recent government notification had ordered the compulsory retirement of Prof Abdul Qadoos Kakar, Prof Muhammad Taqi and Prof Zahid, while a number of schoolteachers had been penalised through the suspension of annual increments and promotion opportunities.
Rejecting the measures, APPLA termed them punitive actions against employees who had exercised their democratic right to protest. The association expressed surprise that such actions had been taken under a provincial government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party, which has historically been regarded as supportive of labour rights and public-sector employees.
The association appealed to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari to intervene and ensure the reinstatement of the affected teachers, as well as the withdrawal of disciplinary penalties imposed on schoolteachers.
APPLA also called upon the federal and provincial governments to increase public-sector salaries in line with inflation, restore and enhance frozen allowances, including conveyance, house rent and medical allowances, and reinstate tax rebates for teachers and research scholars.
The association announced that a high-level APPLA delegation would soon visit Balochistan and hold meetings with the provincial education minister and other senior officials in Quetta to seek an amicable resolution to the dispute. Among those present at the press conference were APPLA Vice-President Prof Ghulam Mustafa Kaka, Joint Secretary Prof Mushtaq Phulpoto, SPLA Karachi Region President Prof Asif Munir.
