LAHORE – The PCS Officers’ Association has finally called off its strike after the Punjab chief minister agreed to meet them on Friday to listen to their grievances, PCS Officers’ Association President Rai Manzur Nasir announced in a press briefing on Thursday. Talking to journalists, he said the provincial service officers had announced the strike against the ‘accesses’ by the District Management Group (DMG) officers. He further said that Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has already had a meeting with a delegation of provincial service officers on Wednesday and now the chief minister has agreed to listen to their grievances.
“Since we do not want to meet the CM while on strike, the association has decided to call off the strike as a good will gesture,” he said, adding, “Now the chief minister will listen to our issues, while the DMG will also be in the meeting as a party.” However, senior DMG officers termed the move ‘face saving’ on the part of the PCS Officers’ Association, claiming that a majority of officers were already attending offices, with many more ‘regretting’ their decision of observing the strike even on Thursday.
They further alleged that those privy to the meeting with Sanaullah have revealed that the PCS Officers’ Association office bearers contacted several MPAs to ‘influence’ the government to meet them as a ‘saving grace’, as only those given termination notices were observing the strike. Services Secretary Sikander Sultan Raja said the government was not biased towards any cadre or group, as several officers from the provincial service have been promoted.
