MULTAN, Feb 12: Scores of women councillors observed token hunger strike here on Saturday to protest against the proposed reduction in the seats reserved for women, labourers and pheasants in the local bodies.

The hunger strike camp was organized in front of the Multan Press Club jointly by the Women Councillors Network and Pattan development organization.

Councillors Lubna Mumtaz, Surraya Asghar, Haleema Saadia and Pattan official Abdul Saboor addressed the protesters. The speakers rejected the proposed amendments to the LB ordinance. They said that the women's representation would come down to 18,066 from 36,110 and of labourers/peasants to 12,044 from 24,088.

Organizers of the protest camp claimed that the token hunger strike camps for the same cause were also held simultaneously on Saturday in Attock, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Jhang, Khanewal, Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan.

RAPE: Activists of various civil society organizations held a meeting and later organized a demonstration here on Saturday to protest against the rape of a lady doctor in Sui (Balochistan).

The protesters assembled under the aegis of Joint Action Committee for People's Rights. Those who spoke in the meeting condemned the incident and the subsequent efforts of government and the authorities of Pakistan Petroleum Limited to conceal the inhuman crime.

Prominent among the speakers were Rashid Rehman, Mustafa Baloch, Seema Bilal, Rahat Zartaj, Ziaur Rehman, Safia Parveen and Safia Parveen.

After the meeting, the participants came out on MDA Square to protest against what they alleged the unsympathetic and callous attitude of the government. They demanded immediate arrest of the culprit(s).