The demonstrators who included around 150 women were holding banners and placards inscribed with different slogans, many written with a tinge of sarcasm directed at Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and his government, initially assembled at an open space along the bustling Bank Road where through they later paraded up to the press club.
“Hum nahi maantay, zulm k ye zaabtay (We will not bow to the cruel regulations),” was the frequently raised chant in addition to “Down with the incompetent government and the assembly” by the demonstrators.
Some of the women had also brought their minor kids to the protest.
On May 31, the AJK Legislative Assembly had got enacted the AJK Regulation of the Service of Certain Categories of Contractual, Ad-hoc or Temporary Government Employment (Terms and Conditions) Act, 2021 at the strength of its majority.
The opposition Peoples Party (PPP), one of whose four lawmakers is also occupying the office of the Leader of the Opposition in the AJK Assembly, as well as Muslim Conference (MC), another constituent of the combined opposition, avoided to attend the session allegedly to give a walk over to the government.
However, the only three opposition members in attendance - Sardar Hassan Ibrahim of Jammu Kashmir Peoples Party (JKPP) and Abdul Majid Khan and Deevan Ghulam Mohiuddin of the PTI, objected to the passage of the “controversial” bill and called for its withdrawal.
On seeing no signs of acceptance of their demand, they had staged a walkout from the house.
Two members of Jamaat-e-Islami, one of whom had earlier expressed reservations about the bill, however did not join the trio, allowing the government to claim that the bill had been passed unanimously.
Earlier, Mr Ibrahim had also written a strongly worded dissenting note on the bill as one of the two members of the concerned select committee.
The bill, which got assent from the President on Wednesday, is alleged to be reminiscent of an identical piece of legislation by Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan led MC government in 1992 whereby around 480 persons were inducted as gazetted officers without any competitive exams. The law was later struck down by the AJK courts.
In their speeches outside the press club, many demonstrators also referred to the 1992 legislation and said the new law was bound to meet the same fate.
“This is a cruel and unjust piece of legislation whereby the government has regularized those who had either failed in previous competitive exams or had been evading it after recruitment on the basis of their political connections,” maintained Urooj Younas, a student.
“Allah willing, we will collectively challenge and get it repealed from the superior courts,” she vowed.
Faisal Khokhar, another student, said it was ironic that this law had been enacted by PM Haider despite the fact he had been blowing his own trumpet about the introduction of NTS by his government for recruitment of primary and junior teachers.
Shahid Awan, one of the organisers, said civil society would fully support students in their legitimate struggle for annulment of the 'discriminatory law.'
The social media was also replete with comments pouring scorn on the move.
"The hue and cry raised by the PML-N government over a mere suggestion by NCOC to postpone the upcoming AJK polls in view of Covid-19 pandemic was in fact aimed at diverting attention from the worst ever slaughter of fundamental human rights, justice and merit” on its part in collusion with the PPP,” wrote Raja Amjad Ali Khan, a renowned lawyer and human rights activist, in a social media post.
Tariq Naqash
No comments:
Post a Comment