Two die as PIA workers clash with police and Rangers

KARACHI, February 2: Two workers of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have succumbed to wounds after law enforcers allegedly opened fire to deter protesters’ movement towards Jinnah International Airport in Karachi Tuesday.
Sindh Police used water cannon to deter the protesting employees who were furthering towards Jinnah International Airport from the head office while Rangers resorted to baton charge, leaving dozens of them injured.
The law enforcers have been alleged of opening fire that claimed two lives and injured several others. Report said a PIA worker, who was suffered a gunshot wound during the protest, later succumbed to his injury at a private hospital. The victim was identified as Inayat Raza, who was working at IT department of PIA. Another injured person, Saleem, who also sustained bullet wounds died at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Complex (JPMC), spokesman Dr Seemi Jamali confirmed. She said at least ten injured people were admitted to JPMC, two of whom were critical. A large number of women protestors were also in the protest rally that was taken out a day after enforcement of Essential Services  Maintenance Act (ESMA) to ban workers’ protest.
However, Deputy Inspector General East Kamran Fazal has rejected the claims and said that the personnel did not open fire. There are reports that protesters possessed weapons, he added.
DIG Kamran Fazal said bullet casings were collected to ascertain who opened fire on the protesters. He claimed the bullets were not fired by policemen. “We instructed our personnel not to handle the protesters violently. We are trying to find out who initiated the clash,” he said.
“No Rangers personnel fired to control the protest at Jinnah Terminal today,” Rangers Public Relations Officer said in an official statement. According to Sohail Baloch, head of Joint Action Committee of PIA workers, two PIA workers were killed and at least 18 injured including women. An empty shell of Sub Machine Gun (SMG) was found from the scene.
Spokespersons of police and Rangers later claimed in a statement that none of the personnel fired shots over protestors. Despite promulgation of the law, the workers of national flag carrier went ahead with their plan to bring countrywide flight operations to standstill Tuesday.
As news of the deaths of two Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees spread Tuesday evening, the national flag carrier’s flight operations across the country began shutting down in solidarity with the protesters, officials said.
While flight operations remained on schedule Tuesday morning despite the PIA union’s call for a complete strike against privatisation of the airline, the situation changed drastically after employees protesting outside the Karachi Airport clashed with law enforcement personnel, resulting in the deaths of two PIA employees. PIA flight operations were suspended around 4pm at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport and the Quetta Airport, officials confirmed. The status of PIA flights at Karachi was already uncertain due to the violent protests.
However, PIA management claims the schedule is not disturbed anywhere in the country. PIA spokesman Danyal Gilani said flights from Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and other cities departed as per schedule.
By enforcing the ESMA, the government has abolished all unions of workers. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed PIA administration to take action against those employees who continue to abstain from duties.
The ESMA envisioned serious penalties for the protesting employees, including dismissal from service, imprisonment for a maximum period of one year and fine.
At least three other people, including a private television channel cameraman Shafiq Dilshad, were injured during the protest as security officials also dispersed journalists and media personnel covering the incident. Dilshad’s condition is said to be stable.
Another cameraman Agha Rafiq was also injured in the clash, while a business reporter was also baton-charged. Meanwhile, PIA spokesperson Daniyal Gilani said that PIA management had asked protesting employees to come to the negotiating table but the union did not pay heed. He said the government was taking action in accordance with the law to deal with the situation, and that flight operations had not been affected.
Protests by PIA employees also erupted in Multan and Peshawar in solidarity with the treatment meted out to their colleagues in Karachi.-DNA