Teachers Protest at Karachi Press Club, Attempt to Reach Chief Minister House Foiled; Police Use Tear Gas and Water Cannon

Teachers under the All Sindh Primary Teachers Association staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club in support of their demands. When the protesters tried to go to the Chief Minister House, police took action to stop them, using tear gas and water cannon.

During the police action, Ghulam Rasool Mehar, central president of the teachers' committee, was taken into custody, and several other teachers who tried to go to the Chief Minister House were also arrested.

After the police action, the protesters dispersed and returned to the Karachi Press Club. Strict security arrangements had been made on the routes to the Red Zone and the Chief Minister House because of the protest.

The protesting teachers demanded that they be made permanent from the date of their initial appointment, and that the authority over teachers' transfers be restored at the district level instead of the Sindh Secretariat.

The protesters also demanded an end to the cluster hub policy and the upgrading of the grades of teachers that have been pending for several years. The teachers also opposed the merging of small government schools into larger ones under the cluster hub policy.

Meanwhile, because of the protest, both tracks of M.R. Kayani Road were closed to traffic, causing severe traffic jams at Fawara Chowk, Deen Muhammad Wafai Road and Sarwar Shaheed Road, with long lines of vehicles forming.

According to traffic police, traffic continued to be diverted through alternative routes towards Aiwan-e-Sadr Road and Zainab Market, while a heavy contingent of police remained deployed on the routes leading to the Chief Minister House.