Protesting Peshawar university employees block Khyber Road

Peshawar professors protesting against pay cuts were baton-charged, tear-gassed, and arrested on Monday for marching towards the provincial assembly.

KP Assembly falls into the red zone where gatherings of more than five people is prohibited.

The number of arrested protesters remains unclear.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Federation for Universities Chairperson Salahuddin was reportedly taken into custody as well.

The demonstrators had gathered on Khyber Road in the morning and blocked it. They were all teachers of the University of Peshawar. They demanded the government revokes the decision to deduct their allowance pointing out that their livelihoods were at stake.

“We have already suffered a lot because of the coronavirus lockdown and now this,” one of them said.

The demonstrators demanded that the government should take back its decision to increase university fees as well.

In these tough times when the government should be facilitating us, they are instead increasing our problems, another teacher said.