GUJRANWALA: Police released 132 people, including many workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), on Wednesday when family and civil society members staged a demonstration outside the office of the city police officer (CPO).

The demonstrators alleged that out of the more than 300 people arrested from roads and houses, most were random and sent to jail after being declared workers of these political parties.

They demanded those arrested be released immediately and threatened with a sit-in outside the office until their demand was met.

Scores of lawyers also gathered there in support and shouted slogans against the police and administration. Police arrested three lawyers for instigating a mob but later released them on the request of their colleagues.

District Bar Association President Advocate Ahwer Tufail Warraich set up a legal relief camp outside the CPO office and the Jamaat-i-Islami outside the DCO office to provide legal help to relatives of the detained people.

Over 200 PTI and PAT workers were still in jail. Most of them were allegedly involved in attacking police officials and injuring as many as 76 personnel during ‘long march’ on GT Road.

They were detained under sections 3 and 16 of the MPO by order of the district administration for a month and later their detentions were extended for another month.

RELIEF: The district administration constituted 79 teams for rehabilitation of flood-affected people besides setting up relief and medical camps in Wazirabad and Kamoki.

Speaking at a briefing on Wednesday, DCO Azmat Mehmood said over 18 villages of these tehsils were badly hit by the flood where about 23,000 acres and farmland were damaged.

He pointed out that water cess and other taxes would be written off by the provincial government after declaring the areas calamity-hit.

He said 14 relief and medical camps were set up in both tehsils. He also elaborated that the livestock department had provided 40,000kg of fodder for animals while an additional 90,000kg were arranged later. Around 100,000 bottles of potable water had also been provided to the flood-affected people.

The DCO said a door-to-door survey was being conducted in these areas to avoid epidemics of dengue and other viruses. Health teams were administering protective injections to people at their houses and relief camps.

He said over 12,000 food hampers had been provided to the flood-affected peoples.

ELECTION: The Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (GCCI) ruling One Unity group’s Akhtar Begum was elected executive member on a women’s seat on Wednesday.

Akhtar Begum is the owner of Hamza Silk Factory and a chamber member. Group leaders Sheikh Muhammad Nasim, Akhlaq Butt, Haji Murad, Malik Zaheerul Haq, Sheikh Sarwat Ikram and Rana Shahzad Hafeez felicitated her and extended their cooperation to her.

Akhtar thanked the leaders and assured them she would work for promoting national products and industrial development besides resolving the issues of chamber members.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2014