A vocal backlash has erupted in Balochistan against the provincial administration’s recruitment tactics, with unemployed pharmacists decrying the paltry job offers for thousands of qualified candidates. At a packed Quetta Press Club briefing, the Unemployed Pharmacists Action Committee (UPAC) branded the initiative a ‘pittance,’ representing the plight of over 2,000 professionals.
UPAC leader Qasim Aziz Mengal fiercely opposed the scheme, insisting on substantial position expansions and strictly merit-based, open recruitments. He exposed walk-in interviews for key BPS-17 posts as rigged opportunities for patronage appointments, highlighting a health sector riddled with favoritism and secrecy.
The group raised red flags about private hospitals operating without pharmacy infrastructure or expert personnel. They took aim at the latest health department notice soliciting contract-based doctor and pharmacist hires, decrying it as precarious employment that solves nothing long-term.
In related turmoil, Quetta police rounded up dozens of state employees Tuesday, preventing an allowance protest in the fortified Red Zone. Internet suspensions blanketed the area amid rising tensions, local sources confirmed.
Staff from distant Balochistan districts poured into the hub, paralyzing government operations. Container blockades sealed entries beforehand. Press Club gatherings met with arrests, galvanizing the Balochistan Grand Alliance into declaring a ‘jail saturation’ push.
These protests illuminate entrenched barriers to fair employment in Balochistan, where nepotism allegations compound economic hardships, potentially escalating into province-wide campaigns for reform.