KARACHI: Police resorted to teargas shelling and baton charge to disperse protesting teachers here on Thursday.
According to details, teachers from different parts of Sindh on Thursday reached Karachi Press Club (KPC) to march from Karachi Press Club (KPC) to Bilawal House.
They were protesting against Sindh government and education minister for not regularizing their jobs.
A large number of civil society members, political and nationalist activists also reached the KPC to support the struggle of teachers.
The teachers, however, staged a sit-in outside the KPC, carrying symbolic coffins and chanting slogans against the Sindh government.
When the protesting teachers assembled to march to the Bilawal House, police used teargas shelling and applied baton charge to disperse them.
At least five teachers including Arif Qureshi, Nadeem and Zulfiqar were injured and rushed to hospital.
Talking to PPI, National Testing Service (NTS) Sindh passed teachers action committee member Dost Mohammad Soomro said they have been protesting since the 25th December for their rights but the government is not serious to meet their demands. He said everyday CM House and education minister are changing their statements but they are not ready to meet their demands.
Soomro said they were protesting in a peaceful way outside the KPC but police had used teargas shelling and baton charge and arrested more than 25 teachers including PTA central president Shafi Mohammad Sathio, Ramzan Mugheri, Shahnawaz Khoso, Sattar Khoso, Asif Shaikh, Sami Bughio and Pardeep Kumar.
He demanded of the IGP Sindh AD Khowaja to take notice of such atrocities of the police.
However, a senior police officer Tauqeer Ahmed told PPI that they have detained some 20 teachers because they were moving toward the Red Zone.
However,, Sindh Home Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal took notice of baton charge and teargas shelling on teachers and directed DIG West Zulfiqar Larik to submit a report in this regard as soon as possible.
On the occasion, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh leader Haleem Adil Sheikh reached the KPC to show unity with the protesting teachers.
Talking to media persons, he said it is very shameful action to teargas and baton charge the teachers. Tour teachers are the future of Sindh and PTI would stand with them shoulder by shoulder, he said.
He said that yesterday they had staged a march in favour of the demands of sugarcane growers, from Hyderabad to Karachi, but they were also beaten up by the police. He said the people of Sindh have now fully fed up with the PPP government and it would be ousted in the coming general elections.