Pakistan’s Balochistan province is witnessing mounting anger from unemployed pharmacists who have publicly condemned the government’s hiring practices as discriminatory and opaque. The Unemployed Pharmacists Action Committee (UPAC), speaking for over 2,000 members, mocked the limited job postings as ridiculously inadequate during a Wednesday media event at Quetta Press Club.
General Secretary Qasim Aziz Mengal minced no words, denouncing the approach and urging officials to open more slots with rigorous, merit-only selections. He slammed walk-in interviews for BPS-17 pharmacist roles as non-transparent mechanisms designed to benefit insiders and those with political pull, eroding trust in the health department’s processes.
Additional grievances included the glaring lack of pharmacy services in private hospitals and unfilled positions. Critics panned a new circular from the health authority promoting contract hires for physicians and pharmacists, viewing it as a short-term patch on deep structural flaws.
Parallel drama unfolded as authorities arrested numerous government workers Tuesday, dispersing a bid for a Red Zone protest demanding allowance parity. Mobile data services were cut in Quetta during the standoff, according to reports.
Provincial employees flooded the city, stalling administrative work across offices. Officials had fortified the secure zone with containers since Monday evening. Relocating to the Press Club area led to mass detentions, after which the Balochistan Grand Alliance vowed a mass incarceration drive.
As demonstrations intensify, they reveal chronic unemployment woes and governance failures plaguing Balochistan, threatening to spark wider unrest if unaddressed.