TOBA TEK SINGH: PML-N MNA Chaudhry Asadur Rehman, who heads dissident group of the party in the race for district council top slots claimed to have support of 78 members out of total 109.

He made the claim on Sunday at a luncheon hosted for union councils chairmen of his group at Kamalia by a PML-N leader.

He expressed the hope that his group’s independent candidate for the district council chairperson slot, Begum Fauzia Warraich (wife of MNA Khalid Javed Warraich), would defeat the ruling party ticket-holder.

He also claimed that all the 78 members who supported Ms Warraich were present at the luncheon.

The dissident group has fielded Pir Akhtar Abbas Kirmani of Kamalia and Irfan Azam Sipra of Toba for vice-chairmen slots.

The group is also being supported by two PML-N MPAs — Pir Ali Baba of Pirmahal and Abdul Qadeer Awan of Gojra.

A few days ago, former Punjab advocate general Mustafa Ramday (son of retired supreme court judge justice Khalil Ramday and nephew of MNA Chaudhry Adaur Rehman) had also participated in a meeting of the group. Mustafa Ramday is also a legal adviser of the Sharif family.

On the other hand, PML-N had issued ticket for district council chairman slot to ex-MPA Sardar Masood Gadhi (brother of PML-N MPA from Rajana retired Colonel Sardar Ayub Gadhi). For vice chairmen slots the party had fielded Shahid Iqbal Gujjar of Kamalia and Mian Muhammad Ihsan of Gojra.

The ruling party candidates are also being supported by MNA Junaid Anwar Chaudhry and three MPAs -- Mian Muhammad Rafiq, Amjad Ali Javed and Begum Nazia Raheel Gujjar. The group also enjoyed the support of ex-MNA and Awam League Chief Riaz Fatyana, National Muslim League MPA from Gojra Bilal Asghar Warraich and its chief ex-MNA Amjad Ali Warraich.

In a recent meeting at Pirmahal, PML-N ticket-holders and MNA Junaid Anwar Chaudhry had claimed they had support of more than 80 members out of total 109.

ARRESTED: Police claim to have arrested a man wanted in a double murder case.

An official said an Arrouti police team raided a place in Lahore and arrested Ghulam Shabbir, a resident of Durrabad locality, who had allegedly killed his wife and a man she was alleged to have affair with.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2016