Protesting railway workers bring trains to halt

Railway employees are protesting against the delays of salaries by limiting the trains on the tracks after rounds of negotiations failed because the state institute has not been able to pay the staff.

The situation got worse on Friday when several intercity trains from Lahore to Karachi – including the Karakoram Express, Pak Business Express, and Karachi Express – could not depart on their scheduled routes as the employees staged protests on the tracks.

Amidst all this is the protest of passengers for being stranded for hours at the platform and being punished for the crime of relying on the national railway.

Some of the protesting employees are claiming to have not been paid for the months of August and September while the others have experienced significant delays. They halted the washing line before proceeding to block the track. They also stopped by the Business Express train from Karachi to Lahore and forced the passengers to disembark. They were reportedly chanting slogans against the management and expressed their anger over the difficulties they are experiencing due to this crisis. Some even complained about the electricity and gas supply being cut off due to this crisis.

Owing to Pakistan’s plummeting economy and the growing financial crisis of different institutions the employees are frustrated. The outgoing Chief Executive Officer Shahid Aziz highlighted the adversity of the circumstances by stating that a bailout package of Rs 35 billion is awaited to save the struggling institution.