Road blocked against land-grabbing

Published April 29, 2008

GUJRANWALA, April 28: Activists of the People’s Youth Organisation (PYO) threw traffic out of gear on GT Road and staged a sit-in to protest raising of a commercial plaza illegally near the railway level-crossing by landgrabbers.

Led by PYO Divisional President Chaudhry Irshadullah Sundho, the protesters besieged the offices of City District Nazim Fiaz Ahmad Chattha and DCO Ather Husain Sayal and chanted slogans against the land-grabbers.

They later staged a rally which started from the district courts and terminated at the level-crossing after parading different city roads.

The protesters demanded that work on the plaza should be stopped and the lease, if any, be cancelled immediately. They vowed to continue their protest till cases were not registered against the land-grabbers.

MNAs Imtiaz Safder Warraich and Barrister Usman Ibrahim reached there along with senior officers of the city district government, and told the protesters that Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had ordered to stop construction work and sought a report from the Punjab government when they tabled a motion in the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, DCO Athar Husain and DIG Zulfikar Ali Cheema also rushed to the spot along with senior officers and deployed a police contingent there and ordered the arrest of land-grabbers in case they tried to resume the construction work.

ARRESTED: An FIA raiding party arrested another human agent after a brief encounter on Monday.

Reports said FIA Additional Director Husain Asghar received information that Najam Abbas was present in his house in Sambrial.

On his direction, an FIA team headed by inspector Rao Naserullah conducted a raid and arrested the accused after a brief encounter.

The accused, who was wanted in 18 cases of human smuggling, had extorted Rs600,000 per head for sending people to Greece through Iran and Turkey.

SEALED: A raiding team of the food department sealed the godown of a commission agent after seizing more than 4,000 flour bags on Pir Kot Road at Ghakkar Town on Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, district food controller Qadir Ahmad Bajwa along with his staff raided the godown of Mian Muhammad Akram and recovered the flour bags stored there for smuggling.

He sealed the godown and took all records of the commission agent into custody. He said that an FIR would be got registered against the accused after checking of his other godown.

SUSPENDED: DIG Zulfikar Ali Cheema suspended from service another SHO for negligence of duty in Wazirabad on Monday.

Reports said the DIG had posted Zafar Iqbal as SHO some three days ago after suspension of his predecessor.

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...