The new Pakistani government's move to dismiss 80,000 employees of a department established by President Pervez Musharraf sparked a clash between protesters and police Thursday that injured six people, officials said.
The dismissal of the employees of the National Commission for Human Development also comes as Pakistan's economy is floundering in the face of yawning budget and trade deficits and soaring inflation.
Police used batons to disperse some 100 of the employees protesting in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore. Officer Ishtiaq Khan said police were trying to restrict protesters to the side of a road when scuffles broke out.
Television footage showed demonstrators trying to push through a police barricade in a rain-soaked street. One man was hospitalized after he was hit in the head during a baton charge.
The commission was established by Musharraf in July 2001 as a federal statutory body, its Web site says. Its mission is to support government departments, civil society groups and others in sectors such as education and basic health care.
According to a government decision last month, 80,000 employees of the commission were issued notices that they would be laid off by Aug. 1, said Amir Bilal, the commission's spokesman in the capital, Islamabad.
Bilal said the decision to remove the employees was a move toward closing down the commission because government funds for running the organization have dried up.
It also comes as Musharraf faces a possible showdown on his future with the new ruling coalition. The main parties in the new government routed Musharraf's allies in February elections and have been agitating for him to step down.
