ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Government employees continued their protest against the federal budget on Islamabad's Constitution Avenue on Friday, with several demonstrators detained after attempting to march toward Parliament House.
According to reports, clashes erupted when protesters tried to move toward the parliament building, resulting in one person being injured during a confrontation with police. Islamabad Police subsequently took multiple protesters into custody.
Employees from various government departments gathered outside Parliament House to press for their demands, while authorities closed Constitution Avenue to traffic due to the ongoing demonstration.
Rahman Bajwa, Chief Organizer of the All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGIGA), said the sit-in would continue outside Parliament House until the protesters' demands were accepted.
The demonstrators urged the government to incorporate their demands into the federal budget and immediately implement all provisions of the agreement reached on March 10, 2025.
Among their key demands are the merger of all ad hoc relief allowances into the basic pay structure and the introduction of a revised Pay Scale 2026.
Protesters also called for the inclusion of a 100 percent Ad Hoc Relief Allowance 2026 in government salaries and a 50 percent salary increase for employees earning less than Rs50,000 per month.
Bajwa further demanded the regularization of daily-wage and contract employees, restoration of job quotas for children of government employees who die during service, the formation of joint committees for state-owned entities slated for privatization, and the fixation of a minimum monthly wage of Rs50,000 for government workers.
The protest comes amid growing dissatisfaction among public-sector employees over salary adjustments and inflation-related pressures following the announcement of the federal budget 2026-27.