Government employees in Balochistan have announced that an ongoing protest movement under the banner of the Grand Alliance Balochistan has entered what they describe as a decisive phase, with a large-scale demonstration planned in Quetta on January 20 to press for the Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA).
According to the Grand Alliance Balochistan, government employees from across the region will travel to Quetta in large numbers to participate in what the alliance has termed a final and decisive protest. The demonstration aims to demand a 30 percent Disparity Reduction Allowance for lower-paid employees to address salary disparities within government departments.
Employees associated with the alliance said that despite difficult conditions, the leadership has carried the movement to its final stage. They stated that the success of the protest now depends on the participation of approximately 250,000 government employees across Balochistan, urging them to reach Quetta without delay and to take part peacefully, with discipline and unity.
The alliance has issued a strong appeal to all government employees to attend the January 20 protest and collectively raise their voices for what it describes as legitimate rights.
Government employees from dozens of departments have been staging joint protests for the past seven months under the Grand Alliance platform. Their primary demand is the reduction of pay disparities by granting a 30 percent DRA to employees receiving lower salaries.
Grand Alliance Balochistan head Mr. Abdul Qudoos Kakar said that employees in other parts of the country, as well as those working under the federal government, have already been granted the allowance. He added that the Balochistan government has so far declined to implement the same measure, despite rising inflation and recommendations from a government-appointed committee in favor of the allowance.
Mr. Kakar further stated that employees in certain institutions, including the Governor House, Chief Minister Secretariat, Assembly Secretariat, Civil Secretariat, and the High Court, receive higher salaries compared to employees of the same grade in other departments. He said the Disparity Reduction Allowance is essential to address this imbalance.
The Grand Alliance Balochistan has warned that if the government fails to immediately accept the employees’ demands, the protest movement will be expanded further, placing responsibility for any escalation on the government.