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       Local police in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Hunza and Gilgit districts on Tuesday suspended 35 of their own personnel and halted their salaries after they staged a sit-in demanding benefits.

       Last night, hundreds of police personnel, both men and women, protested in front of the Chief Minister’s House, demanding an increase in their daily allowances and continued the demonstration throughout the night.

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       In two separate notifications issued by the Reserve Police (RP) of Gilgit and the senior superintendent of police of Hunza, 26 police personnel were suspended in Gilgit yesterday, while nine more were suspended in Hunza today.

       The notification issued by RP Gilgit cited “grave misconduct/violation of government servant conduct” as the cause of suspension, while the notification from the Hunza simply cited that they had participated in a protest.

       Both notifications, copies of which are available with Dawn.com, added that the suspended personnel’s salaries had also been stopped.

       The GB police claimed on social media that 63 personnel had been dismissed from service for breach of discipline, but no notification has been issued yet.

       It also said that strict departmental action has been initiated against the personnel involved in a breach of discipline.

       The department said that discipline was the “fundamental characteristic and key identity” of the police service, and that its violation would not be tolerated under any circumstances.

       “Behaviours violating discipline will be dealt with strictly to maintain the transparency and efficiency of the institution,” it added.

       Police officers had staged a separate sit-in two weeks ago. After failing to be dispersed by violent police action, they were persuaded to end the protest through negotiations.

       However, due to a lack of progress and assurance that the issues would be resolved within the stipulated time, the protests began again last night.

       The organisation of protesting police also announced that in the next stage of the protest, they would demand that security duties not be given to government officials, officers, religious figures and Chinese residents.

       A sit-in protest by traders is also currently underway on the Karakoram Highway, entering its fourth week as of Sunday. The ongoing protest, which is against taxation policies and the suspension of customs clearance at Sost dry port, has disrupted travel and trade between Pakistan and China via Khunjerab Pass.