November 7, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba’an 20, 1422

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

BAHAWALPUR, Nov 6: The families of 16 people who were killed in an attack on a church on Oct 28 and five injured were given Rs3.45 million as a compensation here on Tuesday.

District Nazim Tariq Cheema gave away the cheques at a ceremony on behalf of the Punjab government.

Punjab Minister for Law and Minorities Dr Khalid Ranjha announced the financial assistance during his visit here.

However, the monetary help promised by the federal government is still awaited.

Meanwhile, the government has set Nov 10 deadline for police to arrest the remaining killers of the Christian worshippers.

Police had claimed that they had found a clue to the killers and arrested some of them.

STRIKE: The Pak-Afghan Defence Council, Bahawalpur, announced on Tuesday that it would take part in Nov 9 strike on the call of central leadership.

Addressing a press conference, council president Prof Muzaffar Ahmad, coordinating secretary Dr Syed Wasim Akhtar and other office-bearers criticized the government for allowing America to use its air space for attack on Afghanistan.

According to him, local transporters have assured the council to keep their buses and wagons off the road on Friday.

They admitted that there was a pressure from the government not to observe strike, but the council was determined to hold a “peaceful” rally.

Meanwhile, Markazi Anjuman-i-Tajran, Bahawalpur, representative Rao Ashfaq Ahmad said all shops, business centres and bazaars would remain closed on Nov 9 to express solidarity with innocent Afghan people being targeted by the US-led attack.

SUFFOCATED: Two brothers on Tuesday lost their lives while trying to remove the filter from a tubewell on their land near Basti Sahlan.

Muhammad Ashiq and Wahid Bakhsh threw acid on the filter to get it detached. After sometime Ashiq went into the bore but did not return. Wahid followed him and he, too, was suffocated.

The bodies were taken out by the villagers after sunset.

LOOTED: Four bandits on Tuesday evening robbed a cotton-dealer of Rs100,000 in cash, gold ring and wrist watch at the Musafirkhana bus stand, some 20km from here.

Police have registered a case.

Muhammad Arshad, a commission agent, was deprived of Rs350,000 in cash at gunpoint by two motorcyclists.

Arshad was on his way to his shop in grain market after drawing the cash from a bank when he was looted.

Cantonment police have registered a case.

FIRE: Five people, including manager of a cotton factory, sustained burns in a fire in the company’s godown.

All the stock has reportedly been reduced to ashes due to late arrival of the fire brigade.

The cause of fire is stated to be an electric short-circuiting.

POLIO: The three-day anti-polio drive was launched here on Tuesday. Around 500,000 children under five years of age will be administered polio drops along with the Vitamin A.