GUJRANWALA, Nov 21: The local Anti-Terrorism Court No 1 on Friday rejected the bail application of former Sialkot jail superintendent here on Friday.

Former jail superintendent Sikander Hayat had pleaded that he was on leave when the incident happened in the Sialkot jail and that he was not aware of the presence of arms in jail.

But the prosecution argued that the former jail superintendent had links with the accused who supplied arms to jail while half a dozen jail officials recorded statement during an investigation against him.

Accepting the prosecution plea, the judge rejected his bail application. The judge also issued a show-cause notice to the Punjab IGP as to why he deployed members of the investigating team on special duties despite hearing of an important case in court.

A similar show-cause notice was issued when the Sialkot Civil Lines SHO informed the judge that members of the investigating team, who had promised to submit the chargesheet in court, could not turn up as they were deployed on special duties by the IGP.

CAUGHT: District administration teams, headed by district and deputy district officers, raided shops in the city, Wazirabad, Naushera Virkan, Kamoki, Gujranwala Sadar and caught about 620 shopkeepers for overcharging and fined them Rs80,000 collectively on Friday.

The Punjab government had given an executive power of magistracy to the district administration for checking hoarding and conducting raids on shops. At this, district officer Najam Ahmad Shah conducted 38 raids on shops in different parts of the city and fined Rs24,200 collectively.

Similarly, Wazirabad DDO Saira Aslam conducted raids on 83 shops and fined Rs10,100, Sadar tehsil DDO Syed Sibte Hassan raided on 51 shops and fined Rs8,100, City tehsil DDO Itazaz Ahmad raided on 120 shops and fined Rs22,300, Kamoki DDO Najeeb Aslam raided on 181 shops and fined Rs4,950 and Naushera Virkan DDO raided on 147 shops and fined Rs11,200.

Opinion

Editorial

Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...
Water vision
01 May, 2026

Water vision

WATER insecurity in Pakistan has been building up for decades as per capita water availability has declined from...
Vaccine policy
01 May, 2026

Vaccine policy

PAKISTAN has finally approved its first National Vaccine Policy; a step the health ministry has rightly described as...
Labour rights
Updated 01 May, 2026

Labour rights

THE annual observance of May Day should move beyond statements about the state’s commitment to the rights of...