LARKANA, Feb 3: Secretaries of union councils took out a rally in protest against the transfer of 20 secretaries to Karachi from Larkana. They held a demonstration outside the press club demanding cancellation of transfer orders.

Unions President Muhammad Paryal Khuhro and General Secretary Niaz Hussain Tunio said that it was amazing that 20 out of 26 secretaries working in Larkana since 1995 had been transferred and asked to report to Secretary Local Government, a move they termed uncalled for.

Threatening to block transfer move, they questioned as to why secretaries of Larkana were targeted and replaced by people from Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Madeji and Shahdadkot districts.

However, District Officer Monitoring and Evolution Larkana, Hafeezullah Pirzado had already relieved the secretaries in compliance to orders issued by the Director, Sindh Local Government Board but the Employees Union is resisting in handing over the charge to newly-transferred persons, they said.

Protesters showed transfer orders to Dawn wherein appointments were made in October 2010, January and February 2011. Claiming of being well-acquainted with office-work, they said that the new lot is apt to creating a mess.

They threatened of resorting to lock-out and continuing protest, if transfer decision was not reverted.

“We met Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro with the request to intervene as it would not be financially viable for us to survive in Karachi. We are lower grade employees and he assured of taking up the matter with Secretary Local Government,” they said.

Cell phone of District Officer Monitoring and Evolution, Larkana was continuously found switched off.