HYDERABAD, Feb 16 Employees of the Agriculture Research Institute, Tandojam, have threatened to observe pen-down strike from Saturday if the outsiders inducted into the institute are not repatriated to their own department.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Mohammad Malook Ujjan, Sharif Kathio and other leaders of the institute's employees union said that the employees of the institute, who had put in service of 20 to 25 years, were waiting for promotion but some employees of the agriculture extension department had been transferred to the institute and given promotion.

Terming the transfers and promotions illegal, they warned that if the outsiders were not repatriated to their own department in a week, they would give a call for strike at all the stations and units of the institute. They added that they would also stage hunger strikes and demonstrations.

They regretted that those employees, who had served the department for 25 years, had not been regularised but outsiders were being posted in the institute on promotions.

They alleged that the postings and promotions had been made on political basis and added that it had exposed the claim of the government to be workers-friendly.

SIT-IN A large number of students of the Sindh Agriculture University, belonging to the Jeay Sindh Students Federation, staged a protest demonstration and sit-in on Hyderabad-Mirpurkhas road which disrupted vehicular traffic for about 90 minutes on Monday.

They were protesting against the arrest of their five comrades by the Qasimabad police.

Speaking on the occasion, the leaders of the Students Action Committee, Ashiq Hussain Leghari, Younus Malik and Mehrab Mari, said that the police had arrested five students in a false case but following their protest and talks with Hyderabad DPO Ghulam Nabi Memon, four students were released and it was promised that fifth student Mohammad Bux Bahram would also be released on bail. They regretted that the promise had not been honoured.

The students lifted the blockade following a dialogue with the university administration.

Meanwhile, JSSF president Habib Bhutto has announced that if Bahram was not released, protest demonstrations will be held in the educational institutes.