MULTAN -  Clerks from different public departments brought out a rally against price hike, low wages and other issues and held a protest meeting at Raza Hall to press the government to accept their demands here on Wednesday.

The rally, which began from Raza Hall and ended at Chowk Kachehri, was organised by All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) and secretary general of the association Khalid Javed Sanghera led it. A delegation of schoolteachers joined the rally under the leadership of Rana Altaf Hussain, senior vice president of Punjab Teachers Union, to express solidarity with the clerks. The protesters carried out non-stop sloganeering during the rally.

Speaking on the occasion, Khalid Javed Sanghera, Mukhtar Rathore, Qasim Bhutta, Rana Altaf and others warned that the clerks and teachers would encircle assemblies and hold demonstrations across the country if their demands were not accepted. They pointed that ever-increasing prices of electricity, gas and daily use items, privatisation of government departments under the guise of rightsizing, denial of permanent jobs to the contract employees and poor wages perturbed the working class. They said that their demands were genuine and the government should accept them forthwith otherwise countrywide agitation would begin.

The protesters staged a sit in at Chowk Kachehri and displayed banners as well as placards inscribed with their demands. Heavy police contingents were deployed at the Chowk to avert any untoward incident. However, the protesters dispersed peacefully. A severe traffic jam took place in areas around Chowk Kachehri and the citizens had to face severe inconvenience.