The right to protest February 12, 2021 The right to protest peacefully to demand attention to specific problems or raise demands is a right in almost all democracies. The PTI has acknowledged this on more than one occasion. But it appears that this right is limited only to the ruling party itself. While the PTI had staged protests on many occasions, including the ‘dharna’ in Islamabad, it has refused to allow others to do the same. On Wednesday, Islamabad saw scenes which at times resembled virtual civil war as police fired volleys of teargas on government employees who had gathered to demand an increase in their pays. Though the PTI government has finally agreed to a 20-25 percent salary increase for its employees on an ad-hoc basis, it could have resolved the problem much earlier and in a better and peaceful manner. The brutal use of teargas shelling was totally uncalled for.