The Balochistan government has continued disciplinary action against public sector employees, suspending 38 assistant professors and lecturers from the Colleges Department for three months over their participation in strikes and protests. Those suspended include six female teachers.
According to a notification issued by the Balochistan chief secretary, the action was taken under the Balochistan Employees’ Efficiency and Discipline Act (BEDA) on charges of participating in a strike, locking government offices, and disrupting official work. The notification accused the suspended teachers of violating government rules and regulations.
Officials confirmed that those suspended include Abdul Qudoos Kakar, chairman of the Balochistan Grand Alliance, a coalition of government employees that has been leading a protest movement for several days to press for various demands.
Employee organizations criticized the government’s decision, expressing concern and describing the suspensions as an attempt to curtail the right to protest. They argued that punitive measures against teachers for participating in demonstrations would further escalate tensions between the government and its employees.
BSAC Condemns Suspensions as ‘Shameful and Authoritarian’
The Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) strongly condemned the move, describing it as part of a longstanding pattern of suppressing voices demanding justice.
In a statement, the organization said “the history of Balochistan bears witness that whenever a voice for truth and justice is raised, the government of the time has tried to suppress it through force and revenge”.
It said responding to the Balochistan Grand Alliance’s “legitimate demands” with “repression and violence” was “extremely shameful and authoritarian”.
The spokesperson said the suspension of professors and lecturers, including female teachers, and the arrest of alliance leaders exposed a government “afraid of knowledge and the pen”.
He said that while authorities claim to be improving education, “on the other hand it suspends and arrests teachers … proving that in reality education and public welfare are not its priorities”.
According to the statement, the demands of the Balochistan Grand Alliance were legitimate and previously agreed upon by the provincial government, but “now that the time has come to implement those demands … the government and its representatives are backing away from their own promises”.
BSAC said restrictions on political activity and freedom of expression had “become routine”, calling them signs of “political bankruptcy”. It said the relationship between teachers and students was “that of body and soul” and the organization would not remain silent in the face of “the humiliation of teachers and the use of force against peaceful protesters”.
The organization called on the Balochistan government to abandon “stubbornness and the use of force” and instead engage with the protesting employees through peaceful means.