SANGHAR, July 3: Lawyers, businessmen, and members of civil society took out a rally here on Thursday to protest against price hike and demanded resignation of Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shah Mehmood Qureshi for creating confusion over CNG rates.

The rally began from the district session court and ended outside the local press club where Federation of Trade and Commerce president Sufi Abdul Haq, DBA president Anwar Mehmood Nizamani and others delivered speeches.

They alleged that Mr Qureshi had created confusion in regard to CNG prices which gave a free hand to station owners to fleece consumers.

They said that poor people were committing suicide and killing their children out of desperation but the government was spending millions of rupees to show-off and advising have-nots to eat chicken if pulses were beyond their reach.

They said that tall and false claims were made in the budget which had failed to provide relief to masses. They said that flour was being sold at the rate of Rs35 per kg, ghee Rs150 per kg, pulses Rs120 per kg and rice Rs130 per kg and questioned why gas rates were enhanced when it was produced locally.

They said that recent increase in petrol and diesel prices would break backbone of economy and soon the prices of all commodities would skyrocket, leaving people in abject poverty.

They said that rulers were making the nation fool by raising hallow slogans of Roti, Kapra aur Makan (bread, clothing and shelter.)

The participants of the rally dispersed peacefully after recording their protest. Police were deployed during the rally.

ILLEGAL DETENTION: The civil judge and judicial magistrate of Khipro raided the Khipro police station on Thursday on the order of the Sanghar district and sessions Judge and recovered five people, kept in illegal confinement.

Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Ismail Meo ordered the release of Farooq, Mitho, Ghulam Rasool Laghari, Ghulam Ali Bozdar, Mureed Mari and Soomar Pahore. He also directed SHO Ghulam Rasool Thaheem, sub-inspector Pathan Khan Sher and ASI Ali Nawaz Hingoro to appear before the district and session judge on Friday.

The judge had directed the judicial magistrate to conduct the raid on an application of one Roonjho Janwari who had stated that his ‘innocent’ relatives, Mitho and Farooq, had been picked up and detained by the police.

Meanwhile, thieves took away Rs21,000 cash, mobile phones, and accessories of mobile phones from a shop near police station on Thana Road. Police had forced the shops to close after 11pm to protect these from theft.