TOBA TEK SINGH: Jhang’s Athara Hazari Tehsildar and police on Saturday foiled an attempt by two people to occupy state land and set up a filling station at Mauza Bhareri located on Dhaingana Link Road and arrested them.

Complainant tehsildar Haji Zafar Iqbal claimed in the first information report registered by Athara Hazari police under sections 447 and 511 of Pakistan Penal Code that suspects Muhammad Hanif Bhareri and Ayub Khan were digging a 20-foot pit to install machines and tanks for a petrol pump.

Police also took the excavator, tanks and filling weighing machines into custody and sealed the filling station office.

Meanwhile, the Athara Hazari assistant commissioner has issued a show-cause notice to area revenue patwari for his negligence due to which the suspects grabbed the state land worth millions of rupees.

KIT FLYERS BOOKED: Faisalabad’s Factory Area police registered on Saturday a case against unidentified kite flyers whose string caused death of a young man, Asif Ashfaq, at Novelty overhead bridge on Dijkot Road on Friday evening.

The FIR was registered under section 322 of PPC and section 4 of the Punjab Prohibition of Kite Flying Ordinance 2001 on the complaint of ASI Javed Iqbal.

Police have taken into custody some suspects.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has taken notice of the death of Asif after his throat was cut by a metal string. She directed stern action against those who were responsible for the incident.

RPO Dr Abid Khan visited the house of Asif Ashfaq and offered fateha. He assured the family that responsible persons for his death will be penalised.

CONDEMNED: PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council MNA from Gojra NA-105 Usama Hamza has condemned the demolition of five houses of poor people in his constituency’s Nawan Lahore area Chak 351 JB Kalyan Das by a revenue department team, led by a tehsIidar.

Addressing a press conference at Gojra on Saturday, the MNA claimed that all the house owners had voted to PTI-backed candidates and their houses were razed on the pretext of encroachment whereas all other village residents did not have ownership documents as well.

Usama Hamza alleged that the action was taken at the behest of PML-N defeated candidate.

The MNA alleged that before starting the operation, the officials had asked the house owners to contact the PML-N ticket holder to seek ‘forgiveness’ for casting vote to PTI-backed national and provincial assembly candidates.

He announced that he would raise the voice on national assembly floor against this high-handedness.

POLICE RAIDS: District PTI President Advocate Mian Abdul Basit has condemned the police raids at the houses of PTI activists all over the district to arrest them.

In a statement on Saturday, he claimed that police raided the houses of defeated PTI-backed NA-106 candidate Khalid Nawaz Sadhraij at Rajana, Toba city leader Sheikh Hasan Raza, Pirmahal leader Mumtaz Ahmad Daultana, Kamalia PTI city president Sardar Ziaullah Dogar and activists including Kamran Nusrat, Rai Umer Hayat, Mian Riaz, Rai Ilyas and Iftikhar Anjum.

He said no one could be arrested and this was also not known why police wanted to nab them.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2024