LAYYAH, Jan 6 Police have registered cases against 66 political workers and opposition leaders for allegedly attacking a government office and an election office of a Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) candidate.

Karor Lal Esan police registered a case against 26 political activists, including opposition candidates for the National and Punjab Assembly seats, for their alleged involvement in the ransacking of a Tehsil Municipal Administration office.

Separately, Layyah City police registered a case against 40 political activists for staging a protest demonstration and allegedly damaging the election office of PML-Q candidate for NA-182 Malik Niaz Ahmad Jhakhar.

The Karor Lal Esan police, on the complaint of TMA official Ahsanullah, registered a case against Chaudhry Altaf Hussain and Sahibzada Faizul Hassan, Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates for NA-181, respectively. PPP candidates Safdar Abbas Bhatti (PP-263) and Niaz Ahmed Gujjar (PP-262) are also charged in the first information report (FIR) under sections 148/149 and 427/16 of the Maintenance of Public Order and section 506 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to the FIR, angry protesters, led by Hassan, Hussain, Gujjar and Bhatti, came to the TMA office on Dec 28 and badly damaged it and an official jeep and set fire to the TMA record.

In a case registered by the Layyah City police, local opposition leaders Gulzar Hussain Shah and Muhammad Nasir Gujjar have been charged along with many workers with damaging Jhakhar's election office.

PPP OFFICE ATTACKED Two PPP candidates have alleged that around 40 armed men ransacked a main party office on the direction of District Nazim Malik Ghulam Haider Thind.

Dr Fakeer Hussain Shah, candidate for NA-182, and Iftikhar Babar Khan, candidate for PP-266, told a press conference here on Sunday that the attackers set ablaze PPP and PML-N flags and banners late on Saturday night. They said Thind was sabotaging the peaceful atmosphere of the district on the direction of the PML-Q leadership.