TOBA TEK SINGH: Scores of owners of wheat grinding units (chakki) on Monday observed a strike in Faisalabad and staged a sit-in at the District Council Chowk against the food department for not releasing their quota of subsidised wheat for the last seven months.

The protesters carrying banners and placards inscribed with the demand for restoration of their wheat quota, urged the LHC chief justice to take notice of the violation of the court order in this regard by the food department.

Chakki owners association president Ali Akbar told reporters that under a 1999 LHC order 200 grinding units of Faisalabad and others in the province were being supplied five bags each of 100kg subsidised wheat per day.

But in May 2022, the supply of subsidised wheat to their units was suspended and despite their protest their quota had not been restored, he lamented.

He also condemned the district administration officials for imposing “unjustified” fines for sale of Chakki flour at above the fixed price.

PROTEST: Railways employees took out a rally at Faisalabad on Monday to protest non-payment of their salaries.

The rally taken out on the call of Prem Union was led by its central chief organiser Khalid Mahmood. Addressing the protesters, he warned that if their salaries were not paid, the PR employees would be forced to halt the train operations through a ‘wheel jam strike’ all over the country.

He added that railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq had admitted that railways faced Rs550 million losses in floods, demanding the federal government should approve a grant so that salaries of all railway employees could be paid.

SHOT DEAD: A youth was shot dead by two unidentified men outside Darul Aman at Jhang on Monday.

According to a police official, Irfan Haider of Muzaffargarh had come to Jhang to see a girl who was sent to Darul Aman by a local court a few days ago.

He said as soon as Irfan reached the gate of the shelter home in a rickshaw, with his friend Iqbal, two men already present there opened indiscriminate fire on them. As a result, Irfan was criticality wounded, while his friend remained unhurt. The attackers fled the scene.

The injured youth was rushed to the DHQ hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Sources said the girl sent to the shelter had earlier eloped with Irfan, who had obtained permission from a judicial magistrate for meeting with her at Darul Aman.

Jhang Kotwali police suspected that the girl’s family might have been behind the killing.

The police were conducting raids to arrest the killers.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2022