September 20, 2008	Saturday	Ramazan 19, 1429

OKARA, Sept 19: The Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered a case against 16 police officials from Kasur, including four station house officers (SHOs), for illegally detaining and torturing two brothers from Okara.

Shahid Pervaiz, of 52/3-R, filed a writ petition in the Lahore High Court, alleging that Pattoki City SHO Afzal Dogar, Pattoki Saddar SHO Maqsood Ahmad, Raiwind Saddar SHO Malik Tariq Khan, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ashraf Jura, Constable Maqsood and 10 other unidentified police officials broke into his house and held him and his brother Zahid Pervaiz.

Police kept them at various police stations in Kasur and tortured them.

The family contacted the Kasur district police officer (DPO) for their release who ordered an inquiry. The probe declared both the brothers innocent and the DPO ordered their immediate release from police custody.

Later on, Shahid filed a writ petition in the court of the additional district and sessions court judge in Okara seeking the registration of cases against the police officials but the court rejected the plea.

Shahid moved the LHC against the verdict. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa ordered the Okara Cantt police to register a case against the 16 police officials.

PROTEST: Dozens of labourers of a textile mill took out a protest procession on Friday and staged a sit-in outside Okara Press Club against non-payment of their Rs36.5 million outstanding dues and mill administration’s reluctance to follow an agreement accomplished by the Lahore High Court regarding labourers’ residences.

Labourers of Okara Textile Mills (OTM) held the protest procession against its administration for his failure to pay their outstanding dues.

They said the mill had agreed before an LHC judge in 2004 to get residential quarters registered in favour of labourers but it failed to implement the accord.