47 govt college professors detained in Karachi; 'Red Zone' suffers massive traffic jam.

Byline: Imtiaz Ali

Forty-seven government college professors and lecturers were booked and detained by police after they staged a sit-in near Chief Minister's House in Karachi on Wednesday which caused a major disruption in the flow of traffic, police officials said.

According to SSP South Sheeraz Nazeer, 44 male and 3 female teachers have been booked and shifted to various police stations.

The professors were protesting against a delay in their time-scale promotion. They claimed that a summary for the fulfilment of their demands had been approved by the then Sindh chief minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, but had yet to be implemented, compelling them to stage a sit-in.

As part of a Sindh-wide protest, around 200-250 professors participated in the protest held on Dr ZIauddin Ahmed Road. The protest call had been issued by the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA).

The police authorities held talks with the protesters to vacate the area but they allegedly refused to do so, according to a police officer. Protest rallies have been banned in the city's 'Red Zone' where the protest had taken place.

'We took the action of arresting them to get the road cleared for traffic,' said the police official.

The police arrested them after they offered Maghrib prayers, said the official, adding that the police did not resort to baton charges, tear gas shelling or the use of water cannons.

The SPLA announced a province-wide boycott of academic activities on Thursday against the police action and detention of their colleagues. Professors will wear black armbands in protest, according to a statement issued by the SPLA.

'Time-scale promotions denied to college professors'

Earlier, the 'coordination committee for time-scale' of the SPLA had gathered outside Karachi Press Club and held a meeting of their general body led by professor Anwar Mansoor.

After the meeting, as the professors tried to move towards Chief Minister's House, contingents of police tried to prevent them from moving forward. However, the protesters managed to reach the 'Red Zone' and staged a sit-in at PIDC House.

Addressing the crowd of protestors, many professors observed that "in a democratic era, Sindh's lecturers and professors have been subjected to an undesirable attitude by the police and the provincial government."

The SPLA office-bearers, in their address, recalled that hundreds of thousands of school teachers had been given time-scale promotions in 2010 but that college...

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