Dhaka, Oct. 4 -- Employees of Islami Bank have staged a blockade on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway at Faujdarhat, halting traffic for nearly an hour in protest against the bank's "special competency evaluation" programme.

Around 11am on Saturday, they formed a human chain near the Faujdarhat Police Outpost on the highway, raising several demands, including changes to employment practices.

Witnesses said that around 12pm, over a thousand male and female Islami Bank employees sat down on the highway and began chanting slogans, bringing traffic on both sides of the highway to a standstill and causing long tailbacks.

The protest followed a press conference at the Chattogram Press Club on Friday, where the employees had announced an indefinit...