BAHAWALPUR, July 30: PML-N’s defeated candidate Saood Majid Chaudhry has challenged the election of MNA Tariq Cheema of the PML-Q in the election tribunal.

Mr Cheema, a former district nazim, was declared elected from NA-187 (Yazman tehsil) in the last general election. Saood Chaudhry had sought re-election from the constituency but he was defeated in the recounting of votes after the polling on May 11.

Earlier, in 2008, Saood Chaudhry had defeated Pervaiz Elahi.

The election tribunal headed by Justice Kazim Ali Malik (retired) has fixed Aug 15 for hearing and summoned both parties.

In NA-183 (Bahawalpur), Makhdoom Samiul Hassan Gilani, a joint candidate of the Bahawalpur National Awami Party (BNAP of Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi), has filed petition against PML-N MNA Makhdoom Syed Ali Hasan Gilani. The petitioner and respondent are step-brothers who have been summoned on Aug 15.

Mian Muhammad Aslam of PP-289 (Rahim Yar Khan), who has filed a petition against MNA Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar of the PML-N and others, has been summoned by the tribunal on July 31 (today).

The other petitioners and respondents who have been summoned by the tribunal are: PP-245 (Dera Ghazi Khan); petitioner Zeeshan Haider Leghari and respondent Jamal Khan Leghari on Aug 16; PP-267 (Bahawalpur); petitioner Hassan Askari Sheikh (PML-N) and MPA Makhdoom Iftikhar Ali Gilani (BNAP) on Aug 15.

STRIKE: Employees of the Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) on Tuesday observed strike and demonstrated at the Wapda Complex to protest arrest of their colleague by the FIA.

An FIA team arrested Mepco employee Ajmal on the allegation of the owner of a tubewell that he was involved in power theft. This

led to the protest by Mepco employees who demanded Ajmal’s release.

Mepco SE Ghulam Muhammad Durrani told reporters that Ajmal had been taken into custody for interrogation.

He said on the complaint of Wapda’s task force, 67 FIRs had been lodged against power thieves and more than Rs2.5 million had been fined to them.

SIT-IN: Employees of the health department staged a sit-in to press the authorities to consider cases of promotions and increments.