Pakistan: Agitated teachers protest outside Imran Khan's house, seek regularisation of jobs

Islamabad: Teachers hired by the government from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) staged a sit-in outside Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's residence in Islamabad's Bani Gala area for regularisation of their jobs.

The protest, which took place just before Imran Khan’s scheduled address to his party's protest against the current government, reported The Frontier Post. The teachers, who were recruited four years ago impromptuly, were demanding regularisation and other benefits. They arrived in Islamabad to protest near Khan's residence.

Asked why they were not protesting in KP, the teachers claimed they feared the heavy-handedness of the KP police working under the provincial PTI government.

The protesting teachers wanted to communicate their demands to Imran Khan but after their failed negotiations with the PTI leadership, they decided to march toward Khan's Bani Gala residence.

The teachers, who have been employed at numerous KP educational institutions on an ad hoc basis, want to be treated in the same manner as the regular government employees.

Before the talks failed, PTI's central leader and former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry assured the protesters that their demands would be met, reported The Frontier Post.

Chaudhry told the protesting teachers to send their eight to ten representatives to meet Khan and present their demands, but when they went to Khan's Bani Gala residence, no one met them, stated Young Teacher Association President Attaur Rehman.

He said the group waited for 2.5 hours, but not even a single PTI leader met them, let alone Khan. "We received calls from Murad Saeed asking us to go back to Peshawar and (hold) protest there," said Rehman.

The teachers claimed that they have been terminated for protesting but they are determined to continue to protest till their demands are met and a notification is issued.