KHYBER: Scores of jobless daily wagers demonstrated at the Torkham border here on Monday to protest a ban on their cross-border movement. Holding black flags, the protesters gathered at the Nadra Chowk, chanting slogans and calling for relaxing the visa restriction.

Speaking on the occasion, labour leaders and local elders condemned the restrictions imposed on daily wagers’ movement recently, which they said had rendered most of them jobless.

They also accused immigration and National Logistics Cell staff of misbehaving with the labourers and also subjecting them to torture in order to prevent them from going near the border.

The speakers demanded of the federal government to end the visa restriction, allowing the daily wagers to restart their cross-border movement with token cards issued to them by the Nadra office as was the practice before imposition of the ban.

The local elders also took exception to alleged misbehaviour with them by the Federal Investigation Authority staff at Torkham when they tried to negotiate the immigration issue of certain Afghans stranded at the border for two days.

They alleged that the FIA staffers, instead of listening to their argument about the plight of the stranded Afghans, used foul language and forced them to leave their offices.

They demanded of the FIA high-ups to investigate the matter and take action against the guilty staffers.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2022