PESHAWAR: Protesting Provincial Civil Service (PCS) officers on Monday declined Finance Minister Muzafar Said`s request to call off their strike.

Hundreds of PCS officers have been on a strike for past three weeks to demand removal of chief secretary and an end to discrimination against them vis-a-vis the federal bureaucracy posted to the province.

Opposition Leader in the Provincial Assembly, Maulana Lutfur Rehman and the finance minister visited the protesting officers and addressed them.

Muzafar Said assured the officers that all their demands would be met, saying a four-member ministerial committee would also hear the provincial officers on the discriminatory inquires launched against them in the past.

The minister said the committee, of which he was also a member, had held detailed discussion with the chief minister, chief secretary and secretary establishment on this issue. He said Chief Minister Pervez Khattak wanted the issued to be resolved immediately.

However, a statement issued by the protesting officers said their core committee had decided to continue the strike till resolution of all the issues, including removal of chief secretary, resolution of administrative issues and their pending case before the assembly.

Addressing the officers, Lutfur Rehman said it was province`s bad luck that those who ran the affairs of the government were on the streets for their rights.

Mr Rehman said the PCS officers` protest had no precedent in the history of the province, which was embarrassing for the PTI-led government. He said the provincial assembly had constituted a committee to resolve the issue sometimes back, but the body had yet to complete its task, which was puzzling.-Bureau Report