- PTI chief says govt should hold talks with PIA employees to resolve standoff
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Saturday demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif-led federal government to hold dialogue with protesting employees of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) to end the prevailing crisis by alleviating their grievances.
Talking to a group of reporters during his visit to PIA Headquarters in Karachi where he expressed solidarity with the strikers, Khan asked the government to hold serious negotiations with the protesters to end the standoff that has added to the miseries of passengers.
The PTI chief also called upon the government to repeal the controversial Essential Services Act, 1952, which according to him, was a bone of contention between the government and PIA employees. “Employees see privatisation as a threat to future of their children, but the rulers are unable to understand because they grew up in the lap of a dictator,” he went on to say.
Condemning the killing of two PIA employees, Khan urged the government to set up a judicial commission to probe the matter. He also called on the government to immediately resume talks with the protesters who were willing to come to the negotiating table.
Earlier, Khan assured the protesting PIA employees that he would stand by them.
In his address to the protesters, Joint Action Committee (JAC) head Sohail Balcoh applauded the PTI chief for his support. He said, “We do not want to politicise our movement, but we want the government to pay heed to our demands.” He asked other political parties to also back the protest of PIA strikers. He further said that PML-N leader Muhammad Zubair held talks with the JAC without any mandate, and termed it as a useless practice.