FAISALABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) activists staged a demonstration on Monday against the party leadership for nominating three lawmakers and two others in different government departments.

Carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans for workers rights and against blue-eyed people, they also burnt an effigy of MPA Kheyal Kastroo.

The workers had also staged a demonstration last week and given a week to the party for removing the lawmakers from various departments, but to no avail.

Shakeel Shahid, who won from PP-111, had joined the PTI a couple of days before the last general elections and was appointed the chairman of Faisalabad Solid Waste Management Company (FSWMC) board of directors. Sheikh Shahid, who was refused a party ticket in the last general elections, was appointed the vice chairman of Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa); Dr Asad Moazzam, who had lost the PP-115 elections to Rana Ali Abbas of the PML-N, was working as the chairman of governing body of the Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA); MPA Mian Waris from PP-113 was appointed as the chairman of market committee; and MPA Latif Nazar from PP-114 was named as chairman and Mehboob Alam Sindhu as vice chairman of the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA).

All abovementioned appointments were made by the Punjab government a couple of days ago.

Earlier, when the PML-N was in power in Punjab, it had also ignored the workers and appointed Mian Irfan Mannan, son of former MNA Mian Abdul Mannan, as vice chairman of Wasa; former MPA Sheikh Ijaz Ahmed from PP-68 as FDA head; former MPA Haji Khalid Saeed as PHA head and Akbar Ghauri as vice chairman. Similarly, former MNA Haji Akram Ansari had served as the head of the FSWMC.

Talking to reporters, the protesters said that the PTI had assured them of justice across the board and that merit would prevail. But now the party was going back on its word and nominating “blue-eyed MPAs and others” as chairmen and vice chairmen of various departments, which was condemnable.

They said the party should honour workers, who had struggled to bring it to power, adding that it was the party’s responsibility to respect their rights.

awareness walk: The teachers of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) organised an awareness walk in connection with the breast cancer from the New Senate Hall till Iqbal Auditorium on Monday.

UAF Pro Vice Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal led the walk and also addressed the gathering along with other speakers, including Faculty of Food Sciences dean Dr Masood Sadiq and Dr Nimrah from Shaukat Khanum hospital.

Dr Zafar Iqbal said most of the breast cancer cases were not diagnosed timely due to lack of awareness and cultural taboos, forcing women to keep the cancer secret. He said 40,000 women were dying annually in Pakistan due to the disease and the country had the highest rate of breast cancer in Asia. He said women avoided going to hospital for screening and check-up.

Dr Nimrah called for giving special attention to the disease to control it. She stressed the need for proper check-up for early treatment of the disease.

Dr Sadiq said chances of survival increases manifold if the cancer is detected at the early stage.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2018