PESHAWAR: A group of 291 Pakistani teachers who have been teaching Afghan children in refugee camps across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the past 40 years has appealed to the provincial and federal governments for help after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) terminated their services without providing gratuity or other benefits.

Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, the teachers' representatives, Tufail Ahmed and Farhana Durrani, said they had been working in Afghan refugee camps under formal agreements with the UNHCR but were dismissed over the phone last month without prior notice or explanation.

They said the affected teachers belonged to various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Peshawar, Nowshera, Swabi, Haripur, Mardan, Timergara, Kohat, Chakdara, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Hangu and Tall.

Tufail Ahmed said the teachers had repeatedly submitted applications to the UNHCR seeking their outstanding benefits and gratuity, but had received no response. He added that they had also not been given any explanation for the termination of their services.

He said the teachers had established a protest camp outside the UNHCR office in Peshawar for the past three days, but the organisation had not engaged in talks with them. Instead, he alleged, police were using intimidation tactics against the protesting teachers.

"We are teachers and will remain within the bounds of decency. We have only come here to demand our rights," he said, adding that police had threatened to arrest and take them away.

Ahmed further alleged that although their salaries were linked to dollar-based payments received by the organisation, they had been paid only meagre amounts in rupees for several years.

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Speaking at the press conference, Farhana Durrani appealed to the federal government and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to intervene and resolve the issue.

She said the sudden loss of employment had pushed many teachers' families into severe financial hardship, with some unable to afford even the expenses of attending the protest camp. She also pointed out that several affected teachers were suffering from heart diseases and were facing additional financial difficulties.

Durrani said some male teachers had daughters to support and were struggling to meet their family responsibilities.

"We worked to secure a brighter future for Afghan children, but now the future of our own children is at risk," she said emotionally.

The teachers urged the federal government to take notice of the matter, hold the UNHCR accountable for their termination and ensure payment of their outstanding gratuity and other benefits in recognition of their decades of service.

They also called on Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to intervene and help secure their legal and financial entitlements.