PESHAWAR: Employees of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate General of the Local Government and Rural Development on Monday announced the closure of all offices of their public sector organisation in the province from today (Tuesday) against the alleged manhandling of their colleagues by relief and rehabilitation minister Mohammad Iqbal Wazir over a recruitment issue.

They declared that the strike would continue until the chief minister removed the minister and the police registered an FIR against him.

The announcement came after the directorate’s employees, including DG, directors and assistant directors from across the province, presidents of the local council associations and presidents of the All Secretaries Association at the village and neighborhood councils, held a meeting at the DG’s office in Hayatabad area here.

A participant told Dawn that minister Iqbal Wazir visited the DG’s office on Friday night along with armed supporters and held the employees hostage while demanding the appointment of his men to the Class-IV posts in North Waziristan tribal district.

Allege Iqbal Wazir manhandled staff members over recruitment issue

All offices of the directorate at provincial, district, tehsil and village and neighbourhood council levels will remain closed from Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the association.

It also demanded of the chief minister to de-notify minister Iqbal Wazir and warned if that didn’t happen, then the employees wouldn’t serve visitors as a protest.

The participants condemned the incident of “harassment” and urged the chief minister to order the police to book the minister and his men over it.

They also called for the formation of an inquiry committee to ensure legal action against the “culprits.”

The participants urged the chief minister to ensure protection of government employees saying officials can’t deliver in an insecure atmosphere.

A senior official told Dawn after the meeting that the director-general (local government) had also sent a detailed report about the alleged harassment of employees to the chief secretary for action.

He said the employees had formally requested the Tatara police station to register an FIR against the minister warning that any reluctance on part of the police to act against the minister would force them into approaching the relevant magistrate for relief.

The official insisted that the chief minister had“verbally” ordered the filling of a certain number of Class-IV posts in North Waziristan on the recommendation of to the relevant lawmakers and other authorities, but minister Iqbal Wazir asked officials of the directorate to recruit only those recommended by him against vacancies.

He said that the employees of the directorate and presidents of tehsil municipality unions would meet on Tuesday.

The official said employees of the TMAs would join the strike and close their respective offices across the province from Wednesday.

There is a likelihood of the issuance of birth and death certificates coming to a halt due to the closure of the offices of the council secretaries. Also, the verification of documents for new identity cards and passports will also be affected.

Relief and rehabilitation minister Iqbal Wazir was not available for comments despite repeated attempts.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2022