On 21 October 2014, the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) protested outside the Karachi Press Club to condemn the murder of eight labourers in Balochistan and an attempt to harass veteran social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi.
The protest was attended by industrial workers, political and social activists as well as students.
NTUF Sindh president Gul Rahman said: “The brutal murder of the labourers was an unpardonable act. The working class always stood for the democratic rights of oppressed nationalities and they had always resisted state terrorism in all its forms.”
Other speakers said attacks on labourers on the basis of race or sect had essentially been aimed at creating fissures in the working class movement and strengthening regressive forces. The speakers demanded security to be provided to political and nationalist forces of Balochistan and asked to quell attempts creating a ridge between the working class and nationalist forces in the province. They also demanded a compensation of Rs1 million to the families of the eight slain labourers and Rs500,000 for the injured.
Condemning the robbery at Edhi Home, the speakers said that Abdul sattar Edhi had served humanity irrespective of caste, creed, religion and ethnicity. If a personality like Edhi was not spared, then everybody else in the country was unsafe, they believed.