QUETTA, Dec 31 The Govern-ment Teachers' Association (GTA) has announced that it will boycott election duties in the province.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Haji Abdul Ghaffar Gadazai, GTA president, said the government had been 'forcing' teachers to perform poll duties.

He said the teachers on November 14 had called off their strike following an assurance by former chief minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf that a notification accepting their demands would be issued by the provincial government.

He said the association had presented a memorandum to the provincial chief secretary and informed him about the delaying tactics adopted by the department concerned.

Haji Gadazai said the lukewarm response of the provin- cial government regarding the commitments made with the teachers had left them with no other option but to boycott election duties on Jan 8.

Protest The Baloch Students Organisation (Azad) on Monday protested against what it called excesses being committed by the government in the province and demanded that missing persons allegedly picked up by agencies be immediately produced.

The protesters assembled outside the press club and chanted anti-government and pro-Baloch fighter slogans.