- Minister says some drivers create problem for travellers
- Railways accept four out of six demands of drivers
The Pakistan Railways has confirmed to resume its train operations which were halted on Saturday midnight on the strike call of train drivers.
At least 276 train drivers had stopped their locomotives on the tracks after the Train Drivers Welfare Association’s strike call, demanding upgrading the pay scales of the railway employees, paying overtime wages, distance allowance and reinstatement of sacked drivers.
Soon after the strike came to commence, an urgent meeting was called in the Railways Headquarters under Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique to review the situation. The meeting which started from midnight continued till 8am also included press briefing of the minister.
Addressing to media persons early morning, Saad said that the attempt to halt the train operation was foiled and all the trains had started departing and arriving on time. Calling it the irresponsibility, he said that those drivers participated in strike caused the problems for the passengers and upset the train schedule.
“All the demands of drivers were not to be considered and the department has accepted their four out of six demands,” he said, adding that their demand for the reinstatement of the sacked colleagues was not possible because they had been fired after a number of lives were lost in accidents due to their negligence.
“We will not be blackmailed by drivers involved in different accidents,” he said. Saad invited the protesting drivers to return to their duty and offered to negotiate. However, he maintained that the drivers who would not return to work would be sending home. “They tried to disrupt the railways system which is meant to criminal act but the conspiracies had been foiled with the cooperation of those drivers who rejected the strike.”
However, the minister was hopeful that all railways operations would be back to normal within 48 hours. Soon after the strike was begin, railways spokesperson Najam Wali Khan confirmed stern action against the drivers participating in the strike. He said that the department would register cases against them under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
He said that most of the drivers on strike joined their duties voluntarily within two hours while the railways managed to avail the drivers for all the trains till 7am. He admitted that trains scheduled had disturbed a lot due to this short strike. However, he expressed his hope that all trains would be resuming their schedule within 48 hours.
Najam said that 13 drivers from differed divisions were detained and most of them had been released. On the other hand, the representatives of the association rejecting the railways’ stance said that at least 25 drivers were held in custody from different stations. On Saturday midnight, passengers travelling in trains put into immense trouble as drivers went on a strike.
Most of the running trains were stranded on the tracks in the deserted looking areas. That also put the lives of the passengers at risk due to security reasons. The trains at 13 stations in the Sukkur Division were halted when the protest began. Khyber Express and Sukkur Express, going to Karachi, were parked at Shahdadpur Station, while Shalimar Express (Karachi-Lahore), Allama Iqbal Express (Sialkot-Karachi), Pakistan Express (Rawalpindi-Karachi), and Fareed Express were stopped at Rohri Station.
On the other hand, Tezgam, en route from Karachi to Rawalpindi, was halted at Begmaji Station. According to railways officials, all the trains stranded in Karachi and other areas of Sindh resumed their journeys on Sunday morning. “The Millat Express and the Karakoram Express scheduled to travel from Karachi to Faisalabad and Lahore, respectively — left for their destinations around at 5am.
The Loco Running Staff Association (LRSA) blamed that they were being ‘threatened’ instead of accepting their demands by the high-ups. They said that the authorities arrested those drivers who were called for negotiations. An insider told Pakistan Today that so far negotiations between the authorities and the drivers were remained unsuccessful as the drivers were not ready to withdraw from their demands.
