Protests by government employees demanding higher wages continued across Balochistan for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, with demonstrators blocking major highways at more than five locations, disrupting traffic and daily life in several parts of Balochistan.
According to protest organisers, key roads were blocked on Monday in Khuzdar, Lasbela, Qila Saifullah, Naseerabad, Noshki and Panjgur. On Tuesday, similar protests were reported in Kalat, Pishin, Loralai, Dalbandin and Pasni. The road closures led to long queues of vehicles and caused difficulties for commuters and transporters.
The demonstrations are being organised under the banner of the Balochistan Grand Alliance, a coalition of employees from dozens of government departments. The alliance has been protesting jointly for the past seven months, demanding the implementation of a 30 percent Disparity Reduction Allowance (DRA) to reduce pay gaps between employees of the same grades working in different departments.
The Balochistan Grand Alliance has announced an escalation of its protest campaign, warning of a Balochistan-wide shutdown on January 15 and an indefinite sit-in near Quetta’s Red Zone starting January 20.
Abdul Qudoos Kakar, head of the Balochistan Grand Alliance, said that while other provinces and the federal government have already granted the allowance, the Balochistan government has so far refused to do so. He described the demand as a basic right of employees in the current period of high inflation.
Kakar said that employees working in institutions such as the Governor House, Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Balochistan Assembly Secretariat, Civil Secretariat and the High Court receive higher salaries, while staff of the same grades in other departments are paid significantly less. He argued that the DRA is essential to eliminate this disparity. He added that a government-formed committee had also recommended granting the allowance, but the chief minister had yet to implement those recommendations.
The protest movement is being carried out in phases. In the first phase, employees observed a three-day lockout of government offices. The second phase involves blocking highways across different districts until January 14. This will be followed by a complete shutdown of Balochistan and closure of all government offices on January 15, and an indefinite sit-in in Quetta on January 20.
Kakar warned that if the government attempts to crack down on the protesters, employees would shut down all government offices and launch a “jail bharo” (court arrest) movement.
Several political parties in Balochistan have also expressed support for the protesting employees and urged the Balochistan government to resolve the issue through dialogue and by accepting what they described as legitimate demands.