MUZAFFARGARH, Sept 12: The Mukhtaran Mai Welfare School faces high dropout and lack of funds, women’s rights activist Mukhtaran Mai told Dawn on Thursday.

The school was set up in Meerwala, some 130km from Muzaffargarh city, in 2002 with the help of a Canadian donor. She said the donor later asked her to charge fee or arrange financial resources to run the school. She said the school was not affiliated with the Punjab Education Foundation despite her efforts.

She said she was the first student of her school and studied till grade four but could not continue her education because of her national and international commitments for the cause of women.

She said when she started charging Rs50 per student, the attendance dropped because students said they could not afford fee. She said that there were 17 teachers who were paid salaries after two to three months. She praised their commitment as none of them had left the school.

She said the school which offered free pick and drop to students was now finding it hard to continue the service.

She said the school had once 750 girls on its rolls but now the number had dropped to 550.

MURDER: Zahida Atta Qureshi, the wife of former MNA Mian Atta Qureshi, alleges that her son Mian Nasir Qureshi who was found dead in Multan four days ago did not die naturally.

In a news conference in Multan on Wednesday, she that her 19 years old son was murdered by unidentified people.

She claimed that she had received some threatening calls not to raise the issue of Nasir Atta Qureshi’s death.

Nasir’s body was found from Nishtar Hospital mortuary.