Muzaffarabad, June 24 -- Scores of ad-hoc government employees in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) are staging a continuous sit-in outside the Central Press Club in Muzaffarabad, demanding regularisation of their services. According to reports, many of these workers have been serving in various departments for over 20 years without being granted permanent status, a right routinely extended to their counterparts in other regions of Pakistan.

Protesters say the government's failure to recognize their long-standing service has forced them into the streets in search of justice. "The state policies that have been adopted are not facilities, not solutions--they are just problems, which force people onto the streets. Sometimes in front ...