DERA GHAZI KHAN: The guards at the teaching hospital in Dera Ghazi Khan staged a protest and went on a strike on Thursday for not receiving their salaries for the past four months.

The guards expressed their distress, citing the dire financial crisis they are facing. Many shared heartbreaking accounts of their starving children and their inability to pay school fees, resulting in their children’s expulsion from schools.

“We have been working day and night to ensure the safety of the hospital, but our own families are suffering. We demand the immediate payment of our salaries to fulfill our basic domestic needs,” one of the protesting guards said.

The strike has disrupted security operations at the hospital, raising concerns among staff and patients. The guards appealed to higher authorities to address their grievances urgently and ensure that they are paid on time in the future.

No official response from the hospital administration or relevant authorities has been reported yet.

BoG MEETING: A meeting of the board of governors of the Gymkhana was held under the chairmanship of Commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan and President Dr. Nasir Mahmood Bashir, in which it has been decided to hold the annual elections of the DG Khan Gymkhana Club on Dec 27.

Commissioner Dr. Nasir Mahmood Bashir, while issuing orders to release the election schedule for the Gymkhana Club, said that all possible steps should be taken to make the elections transparent.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner and Vice President Club Muhammad Usman Khalid, General Secretary Zulfiqar Ali Leghari, Board of Governors members Azhar Javed Khan, Syed Kamil Haider, Sheikh Zain Naqeeb, Ishaq Khosa, Dr. Samah Fatima, Hafiz Sadiq Mansoor, Additional Commissioner Coordination Syed Naveed Alam, ADCR Noman Farooq Tarar, Director Development Waseem Akhtar Jatoi, Law Officer Chaudhry Muhammad Akram and others.

Khalid Abdullah and member board of governors Sheikh Zain Naqeeb are contesting for slot of secretary while Aizad Chughtai, Salman Kareem, Umair Jan Leghari, Adnan Hussain, Khwaja Yasir and Azhar Javid are steering their campaign for five seats of board of governors.

The number of contestants for seats of board of governors may increase on day of submission of papers on Dec 20 (today) and final list will be displayed on 26th.

It merits mentioning that Khalid Abdullah Jarrh is contesting for the slot of secretary for the second time as he had lost the previous-year election by his rival candidate Zulfiqar Leghari.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2024