Tens of thousands of Bahrainis participated in a sit-in on Friday in protest at a raid on a senior Shia cleric’s home.
Thousands protest in Bahrain sit-in
Leave a reply
Tag Archives: protest
Metro Bus: Drivers protest against poor working conditions
LAHORE:
The Metro Bus service was held up briefly on Thursday afternoon when bus drivers staged a protest at Gajju Mata against their working conditions.
Around a dozen drivers began the demonstration at 2pm, chanting slogans denouncing their employers, Platform, for fining them for “minor irregularities” like being late and driving above or below the prescribed speed.
They also complained that there was no proper waiting area for drivers at the Gajju Mata bus depot and no arrangement for them to get cold water.
Several more drivers joined in as and when they arrived at the depot and saw their colleagues protesting. Within half an hour, Punjab Metro Bus Authority (PMBA) officials arrived at the scene to negotiate.
After being reassured that their grievances would be addressed, the drivers went back to work.
The PMBA officials later met with Platform officials and were assured that the authority would act, said PMBA officials.
PMBA General Manager (Operations) Uzair Shah said that Platform had already placed a container at Gajju Mata which would function as a waiting area.
He said that the company has also pledged to provide chilled water to drivers waiting for a driver swap.
He said the company was very receptive during the meeting.
He said that the drivers had not complained to PMBA officials about the fines. He said that it was an internal matter for Platform.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2013.
Employees of Pakistan Railways protest against corruption, privatisation
KARACHI:
The employees of the Pakistan Railways on the call of the Pakistan Railways Employees (Prem) Union (CBA) Karachi held a protest against the privatisation of the Pakistan Railways and the corruption which is plaguing the already limping organisation.
Members of the Karachi division of the Prem Union gathered outside the Divisional Superintendent office at the Karachi City Station on Thursday.
The protesters accused the Multan Divisional Superintendent of taking bribes for recruiting people into the Pakistan Railways, demanding that he should be removed from his post. They also asked that others found involved in corruption should be expelled and handed over to the National Accountability Bureau.
Raja Abdul Munaf, president of the Prem Union Karachi warned that if timely action was not taken against the corrupt officers, then the Pakistan Railways’ general manager would be held responsible.
“In our earlier protests, we used to warn that if our demands were not met, we would bring the operations of the railways to a halt,” said Munaf. “But since the Pakistan Railways has already come to a standstill, our warning has changed to starting the operations of the organisation if no one pays heed to our concerns.”
He clarified that the employees were not against the privatisation of the Pakistan Railways but they wanted it done through the right procedure. “These companies should have brought their own engines and coaches instead of using ours.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 24th, 2013.
PTI changes protest schedule, will no longer disrupt traffic
KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to change its protests schedule given the traffic jams that its previous sit-ins were causing.
Now the party will hold sit-ins on Fridays and Sundays and will focus more extensively on its legal struggle against the alleged rigging in the polls on May 11. At a press conference at Insaf House on Wednesday, PTI candidate for NA-239 Subhan Ali Sahil said that the party had submitted all evidence of extensive vote-rigging to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and also exercised its democratic right to protest through peaceful sit-ins across Karachi.
The next protest will be held at Karachi Port Trust in Keamari on Friday and the protesters will gather at Qayyumabad Chowrangi on Sunday, he announced.
PTI candidate for NA-253 Ashraf Jabbar Qureshi demanded that before announcing the official results, the election commission must ensure that the process was fair. He called the Rs15 fee for the verification of thumb impressions condemnable.
The ECP secretary had formally accepted in the midst of polling that the commission had failed to administer free and fair elections in Karachi but it was surprising that they did not stop the polling process, he asked. “ECP should tell what measures it has taken to incriminate all those, including its own staff, who were responsible for sabotaging the elections.”
The party’s candidates for both national and provincial assemblies from Karachi demanded re-elections on all constituencies on the same pattern as NA-250, where re-polls were held on May 19 with the presence of the armed forces inside all 43 polling stations.
Calling the May 11 elections a ‘farce’, Sahil accused the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) of hijacking the electoral process in collaboration with the city administration, DG Rangers, Karachi core commander and police officials, including SSP Chaudhry Aslam. “With planning and forethought, the PTI was prevented from winning as all these entities were at the MQM’s back,” he claimed. The MQM is no longer a political party but a mafia that wants to rule over the city with force and violence, he added.
Qureshi pointed out that their leadership has been receiving reports of threats given to its activists and supporters across Karachi. Referring to the graffiti against PTI chief Imran Khan, he asked the MQM to refrain from using “such cheap tactics”.
“The PTI is an ideological party and will continue its struggle against the MQM ideologically,” added Sahil. “We will never employ the violent tactics of MQM in response but, nevertheless, struggle to safeguard our mandate from street to street and locality to locality.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2013.
Demanding justice: Peaceful protest against murder of student in Nowshera
RISALPUR:
Students and residents of Risalpur blocked Nowshera-Mardan Road on Wednesday to protest against the alleged murder of Hamid Khan, a student who was in the custody of military police (MP).
Hamid was a student at Islamia Forward Public School (IFPS). Tamheed Khan, Hamid’s father, filed a case stating his son was arrested by two MP officials allegedly at the behest of Nisar Shaheed College Principal Aftab.
Aftab accused Hamid of stealing a mobile phone from his house. Following his arrest, Hamid was shifted to an undisclosed location on Monday. Tameed was later asked to take custody of his son’s body from Combined Military Hospital Nowshera.
Though the police filed a report, they failed to arrest the accused officials or Aftab. This resulted in demonstrations by students of IFPS and a government high school. Local leaders of political parties were also participated in the protest.
The protest moved towards a Risalpur cantonment gate, where demonstrators threatened to barge in if the alleged MP officials were not handed over to the police. To contain their rage, Deputy Commandant Salahuddin, Major Pervez and SSO Major Arshid Ali negotiated with the protestors and assured them justice would be given once the matter was investigated. Following the good-will gesture, the demonstrators dispersed peacefully.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2013.
Election rigging: BNP-M women protest ‘poll fraud’
QUETTA:
The women’s wing of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) took out a rally and staged a protest demonstration outside Quetta Press Club on Monday against the alleged rigging in the polls and tampering with the results.
It was for the first time in recent political history that such a large number of Baloch women came out on the streets, challenging the legitimacy of the elections.
Addressing the protesters, BNP-M women’s wing central secretary Jamila Baloch along with Sania Baloch, Rashida Baloch, Zaibun Nisa, Musrat Baloch, Asima Baloch, Zeenat Baloch and others said that the Baloch nation had acquired the capability to resist exploitation and therefore, the Baloch women had taken to the roads against the “poll fraud”.
They said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had promised to conduct free and fair elections in Balochistan but the 65 years old exploitative establishment snatched the right of expression of the Baloch people and through a well-thought-out conspiracy, altered the results of the polls to make BNP-M unsuccessful in the elections.
They appreciated the stand of Sardar Akhter Mengal, saying he was making efforts to bring peace and prosperity in Balochistan and end all atrocities.
They said in order to insult the mandate of the masses, a pro-establishment ethnic party was declared successful even in Baloch-dominated constituencies with the aim of snatching the right of representation of the Baloch people, adding that BNP-M will not allow politics to be played in the name of Afghan refugees.
They said that the purpose of protest was not to acquire power or to enter assemblies but it was to tell the world how the Baloch people were deceived in the name of elections.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2013.
The powerless: Traders, students protest against loadshedding
BAHAWALPUR:
In several demonstrations against unscheduled loadshedding from Saturday through Monday, protesters in Bahawalpur demanded that loadshedding hours be brought down immediately.
Most parts of the city have been receiving electricity for as little as four hours a day. The loadshedding has affected municipal water supply in many areas.
Traders take to streets
The participants of a rally organised by the Anjuman-i-Tajran on Monday blocked the Yazman Road for more than four hours.
The protesters, mostly local traders, said that loadshedding for more than 18 hours a day had nearly closed down their business.
Asif Shah, the Anjuman-i-Tajran Yazman Road president said that the Yazman Road market was the worst affected.
Referring to the lengthy outages, he said, “This is not loadshedding. This is punishment.”
He said Bahawalpur’s people could neither sleep at night, nor work during the day. He demanded that the Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) improve the situation to avert a resort to violence by citizens.
Several residents of housing colonies on Yazman Road also joined the protest.
The protesters dispersed after some district government officers and policemen visited the scene and assured them (protestors) that the matter would be taken ip with the authorities.
Leaders of the traders, who had mounted a similar protest on Sunday, gave Mepco 48 hours to fix the problem.
Boarding students want generators
Separately, boarders at the Islamia University hostel staged a demonstration at the University Chowk in Bahawalpur. The students had earlier rallied on Saturday and Sunday blocked the road for several hours.
During Monday’s protest, they said there were no standby generators. They said they were facing a lot of problems due to long loadshedding hours as they were preparing for their examinations.
They said there was limited water supply at the hostel and was inadequate. They said it got finished every day by the time half of the boarders got ready for university.
The students demanded that the vice chancellor immediately provide generators for the hostel.
The students dispersed after the vice chancellor visited the scene and assured them that generators were being acquired and would soon be installed.
Ice sale on the rise
Ice vendors in the city say the demand for ice has increased tremendously. It is being sold for Rs15 to Rs20 per kilogram.
They say people owning refrigerators have also started buying ice due to increased loadshedding.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2013.
The powerless: Traders, students protest against loadshedding
BAHAWALPUR:
In several demonstrations against unscheduled loadshedding from Saturday through Monday, protesters in Bahawalpur demanded that loadshedding hours be brought down immediately.
Most parts of the city have been receiving electricity for as little as four hours a day. The loadshedding has affected municipal water supply in many areas.
Traders take to streets
The participants of a rally organised by the Anjuman-i-Tajran on Monday blocked the Yazman Road for more than four hours.
The protesters, mostly local traders, said that loadshedding for more than 18 hours a day had nearly closed down their business.
Asif Shah, the Anjuman-i-Tajran Yazman Road president said that the Yazman Road market was the worst affected.
Referring to the lengthy outages, he said, “This is not loadshedding. This is punishment.”
He said Bahawalpur’s people could neither sleep at night, nor work during the day. He demanded that the Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) improve the situation to avert a resort to violence by citizens.
Several residents of housing colonies on Yazman Road also joined the protest.
The protesters dispersed after some district government officers and policemen visited the scene and assured them (protestors) that the matter would be taken ip with the authorities.
Leaders of the traders, who had mounted a similar protest on Sunday, gave Mepco 48 hours to fix the problem.
Boarding students want generators
Separately, boarders at the Islamia University hostel staged a demonstration at the University Chowk in Bahawalpur. The students had earlier rallied on Saturday and Sunday blocked the road for several hours.
During Monday’s protest, they said there were no standby generators. They said they were facing a lot of problems due to long loadshedding hours as they were preparing for their examinations.
They said there was limited water supply at the hostel and was inadequate. They said it got finished every day by the time half of the boarders got ready for university.
The students demanded that the vice chancellor immediately provide generators for the hostel.
The students dispersed after the vice chancellor visited the scene and assured them that generators were being acquired and would soon be installed.
Ice sale on the rise
Ice vendors in the city say the demand for ice has increased tremendously. It is being sold for Rs15 to Rs20 per kilogram.
They say people owning refrigerators have also started buying ice due to increased loadshedding.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2013.
Botched ballots: Tribal women stand like a rock, refuse to abandon protest camp
PARACHINAR:
Tribal women from the upper parts of Kurram Agency are showing exceptional resilience in their protest against alleged rigging in NA-37, refusing to budge from the demonstration camp they set up on May 14 in front of the political agent’s office.
“We were told you are weak and cannot rise for your rights, but here we have gathered 900 women who are demanding their political rights,” said Zainab Hussain, a polling agent who was allegedly thrashed by armed men at the polling station in Pewar. Her speech was punctuated by loud slogans against former MNA Sajid Hussain Tori and political administration officials who have been accused of rigging.
Zainab has successfully managed to lead the protest – now in its eighth day – at Shaheed Park, in front of the political agent’s office in Parachinar. Zainab said she came out of her house on May 11 to take part in free and fair elections and was assigned the duty of a polling agent by former air marshal Qaiser Hussain Shah, an independent candidate from NA-37.
According to Zainab, armed men – who she alleges to be affiliated with Sajid Hussain Tori – barged in the polling station and forced the women to vote for Tori. She added that upon her refusal she was slapped and threatened. “I am a witness. Sajid Hussain was doing this with the support of the K-P governor and political administration officials,” she alleged.
Another protester at the camp, Asya Bibi served as the polling agent at a station in Luqman Khel and has been present at the demonstration since day one. She claimed Political Agent Riaz Mehsud was hearing the slogans, but not responding. “We came out for our polling rights.”
Asya Bibi also blames Sajid Hussain Tori for not allowing women to cast their vote, adding the turnout of female voters in the 2008 elections was the highest in NA-37 as compared to the rest of the tribal belt despite sectarian violence. She claimed the turnout this year was nearly 82%, but women were barred from casting their ballot.
But it is not just rigging that concerns Asya Bibi. She criticised the Frontier Crimes Regulation, terming it draconian. “If the tribesmen cannot raise their voice for their right, the tribal women have the enthusiasm to fight for their rights,” she said, adding most men are appreciative of their efforts but cannot openly endorse them due to social constraints.
Nargis Hussain, who hails from Parachinar, told The Express Tribune via phone that around 900 to 1,000 women gather each morning to protest at the camp, while most return home in the evenings to tend to household chores. Around 100 women, however, stay back at night in the camp, which has not been completely devoid of protesters at any given time since May 14. “We will remain here until ECP recounts the votes in the constituency,” said Nargis, adding they have decided to field a woman candidate in the next elections. “We will surely win.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2013.
Daggers drawn: PTI workers protest killing of party leader in Karachi
GILGIT / PESHAWAR:
Responding to the call for protests made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan over the killing of party leader Zahra Shahid Hussain in Karachi, PTI workers peacefully demonstrated outside the Peshawar Press Club.
Hundreds of protesters led by PTI’s MPA-elect Yaseen Khalil poured onto Sher Suri Road on Monday to protest against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and its chief Altaf Hussain, who Imran Khan has alleged is responsible for Zahra’s murder.
Protesters were holding placards against the MQM and requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take notice of the incident. The road was blocked and traffic was disrupted as protesters headed towards the press club. Commuters faced additional problems as alternative routes had heavy traffic jams.
“We will never sit in peace until we are given justice,” Khalil addressed the crowd. “MQM is directly responsible for Zahra’s murder as MQM Chief Altaf Hussain had openly threatened PTI workers,” Khalil alleged. Karachi is being controlled by a single party and no one dares to bring them to justice for their atrocities, Khalil added.
PTI’s MNA-elect Hamidul Haq said the party secured majority of the votes at the 43 polling stations where re-polling was conducted for NA-250. “It was the MQM who rigged the elections and prevented the PTI tsunami,” he accused. Haq claimed the PTI will free Karachi from MQM’s vandalism and bring the “architect of violence” to justice.
The protesters also requested the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct a transparent inquiry into allegations of poll rigging across the country.
Meanwhile, MQM’s Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) chapter held a protest rally against Imran Khan, condemning his statement against Altaf Hussain.
The rally was addressed by local leaders, asking Imran not to issue baseless statements against a leader who is adored by thousands across the world. “Such statements hurt the followers,” said one demonstrator, asking Imran to put his own house in order first.
Zahra, who was PTI’s vice-president in Sindh, was gunned down on Saturday night by unidentified assailants on a motorcycle outside her house in Defence Housing Authority, Karachi.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2013.