News

Feb 03 , 2016

Strike, protest by PIA employees as firing kills two in Karachi
By Salis bin Perwaiz

Several people, including journalists, injured as law enforcers
use batons and water cannon; flight operation disrupted

KARACHI: In a major blow to the federal government’s plan to privatise the loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), two employees of the national flag-carrier were killed and several others, including media persons, were injured when law enforcers used batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters in the airport police remit on Tuesday.

Officials said Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Sial held a meeting with senior police officials and issued directives for a fair investigation into the incident. They said the Sindh Home Department would write a letter to the chief justice of the Sindh High Court for the formation of a judicial commission over the incident.

Police said a protest was arranged by the PIA workers at the head office of the airline near the Jinnah International Airport in the morning. To avert any untoward situation, the Anti-Riot Force of the Sindh Police arrived at the scene. Paramilitary soldiers also came there to assist the police. When the protesters tried to move towards the airport, police used water cannon to disperse them, but they still tried to move forward.

As soon as the protesters came close to the TCS office near the airport, law enforcers baton-charged them. In the meantime, unidentified persons opened fire at the protesters, leaving several of them injured.

Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Iftikhar Lodhi of the Airport Division said the injured were taken to the Aga Khan Hospital and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where two of the injured died.

The deceased were identified as Syed Ineyat Ali Rizvi, an assistant manager communication at PIA and resident of North Nazimabad, and Saleem Akbar, a PIA engineer and a resident of Model Colony. Rizvi’s funeral prayers were offered at the Babul Ilm Imambargah and he was later buried in the Wadia-e-Hussain graveyard. Saleem Akbar was an activist of the Jamaat-e-Islami.

According to a JPMC medico-legal officer, Rizvi was brought dead to the JPMC from the Aga Khan Hospital, while Saleem Akbar died in the operation theatre. He added that the two men suffered bullet wounds to their chest and abdomen. The post mortems have been conducted, and the final report will be released in the next few days.

The other injured included Shahid Haider, Abdul Najeeb, Aslam Baig, Mohammad Owais Khalid, Syed Zafar Ali, Syed Adil Naeem, Nabila Zaidi, Nasir Matloob, Tanveer Rehman, Muhammad Jawad, Safdar Raza, Hafiz Qudoos, Kamran Masih, Salman and Asim Jilani, hospital officials said. All suffered injuries in the baton charge. After the tragic incident of the killing of two senior PIA employees, the protest intensified, with the workers staging a sit-in at the airport and stopping flight operations.

Another sit-in was held outside the Karachi Press Club and during the protest the protesters alleged that the deaths had occurred due to the firing by the law enforcers. However, the spokesmen for the Rangers and the police denied the allegation.

In his meeting with seniorpolice officials, the home minister sought a detailed report on the firing incident from officials of the East Range. He also directed the police officials not to use force and to settle the matter with talks. He told them to ensure that the protest was peaceful and no thoroughfares were blocked so that commuters did not suffer. The home minister also directed them to secure the spent bullet shells if found from the scene of crime and send them to the Forensic Division for examination.

Investigators said it was early to come to some conclusion as to who opened the fire at the protesters. They said they were trying to record the statements of witnesses and would also check any available CCTV footage.

Our correspondents/agencies add: The Rangers said they did not open fire at the protesting PIA workers, a spokesperson of the paramilitary force said, refuting the media reports which suggested the firing was carried out by the paramilitary force after the airlines workers clashed with them.

Earlier, the DIG, East, had also denied reports of firing by policemen.

The angry PIA workers took to the streets a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for the implementation of the Essential Services Act as the strike announced by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) entered the eighth day. Media persons also staged a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly to protest the manhandling of their colleagues.

PIA Chairman Nasser Jaffer visited the injured at Jinnah and Aga Khan Hospitals on Tuesday evening. The PIA spokesman said that during his visit, the chairman said the PIA had asked the government that the unfortunate incident of firing at the protesters should be thoroughly investigated. The chairman extended condolences to the families of the two deceased PIA employees, the spokesman said.

The flight operation in all parts of the country was suspended due to countrywide protest of the PIA employees. However, the PIA spokesman insisted that the flight operations at all airports of the country were going on as per schedule. Talking to a TV channel, the PIA spokesperson said all flights were departing for their destinations on time.

The Joint Action Committee of the Pakistan International Airlines lambasted the killing of employees and removed portraits of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the PIA booking offices in Multan. It also staged a demonstration in front of the PIA office on the Abdali Road in Multan. The PIA employees closed their counters after getting information about the Karachi clash.

There were reports of a clash between police officials and PIA employees in Multan as well. The police tried to stop the protesters from entering the airport, using water cannons. Multan PIA Joint Action Committee and Air League president Mehr Kalim Klasra led the protest. Three flights were delayed in Multan due to non-cooperation of the staff.

The PIA employees also continued their protest against the PIA privatisation outside the district sales office in Bahawalpur. Earlier, in the morning, the PIA employees ended their strike and started working, but as the Karachi episode news reached Bahawalpur, the employees’ unions including the Peoples Unity and Air League Union once again closed down their offices and started protest outside the PIA office.

In Peshawar, the employees of PIA shut down the traffic control system and the cargo service in the city to protest the death of workers in a firing incident in Karachi.

The protesting PIA workers reacted immediately by closing down the traffic control system at the airport and also the cargo service. They were angered by the death of the two PIA employees during a protest in Karachi against the government’s plan to privatise the national airline.

The representatives of the PIA employees in Peshawar condemned the firing incident. They demanded justice for the families of the slain PIA workers. The PIA employees in Peshawar had earlier been observing a token strike. They were gearing up to join the PIA workers in rest of the country to close down all flights in a bid to pressurise the government to back down from privatising PIA.

Former president Asif Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the firing at the protesting PIA workers in Karachi.

In a statement, Zardari demanded judicial investigation into the incident. In a separate message, Bilawal condemned the use of force against the employees. He asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to desist from adopting dictatorial tactics to stop the democratic right of protest of the PIA employees.

Following the incident, an Interior Ministry spokesman said the security of life and property of people was not only a responsibility of security departments but also a collective obligation. The spokesman said under which law the protesters created hurdles for smooth traveling of passengers and caused damages to government properties.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also expressed grief over the deaths and expressed sympathies with the injured.

Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah condemned the use of force against the PIA workers. The PPP leader said the torture on the protesters reminded brutality of dictators. He said the enforcement of the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act 1952 for six months to bar protesting members of the PIA from participating in any union activity was an act of dictators and no civilian government ever imposed this act.

Condemning the firing on PIA workers in Karachi, the PAT Chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri said had justice been provided in the Model Town tragedy, the firing incident in Karachi could have been avoided.

He alleged that those who are bent upon selling state institutions are behind the killing of PIA workers in Karachi. He alleged that the rulers want to give all state-owned institutions to their favourites and relatives at throwaway prices but the PAT will resist all such moves and bring the ‘barbarity’ of the rulers before the public come what may.

Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk

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