TOBA TEK SINGH: Scores of residents of Shorkot Cantonment forced three trains to stop on Tuesday for two hours against the closure of a railway crossing on Shorkot Cantonment-Faisalabad track for over a month.

The protesters placed hurdles on the track and laid down in front of Malakwal-bound 17-UP Millat Express from Karachi, while Lahore-bound 27-UP Shalimar Express from Karachi was stopped at Shorkot Cantonment railway station. The 28-DN Shalimar Express en route from Lahore to Karachi was stopped in Toba Tek Singh.

The protesters were demanding opening of the level crossing, which they claimed had been closed because the provincial highways department had not paid the salaries of railway employees deputed on the gates for 14 months.

Later, Toba Deputy Commissioner Amina Muneer sent Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Syed Kashif Murtaza and Deputy Superintendent of Police Naeem Aziz Sindhu to hold talks with the protesters. On the directions of the officials, the railways authorities opened the gates immediately and the protesters dispersed, resuming rail traffic.

NARCOTICS SEIZED: Kamalia City police on Tuesday recovered a huge quantity of narcotics from a van that was transporting poultry at the railway crossing on Kamalia-Toba road.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, District Police Officer Waqar Shoaib Qureshi said police had stopped a van at a checkpost set up near the railway crossing and recovered 48 kilogrammes of hashish and 32kg of opium, which had been concealed in the body of the vehicle.

He said the police arrested driver Safdar Abbas and his accomplice Abdullah Khan.

During initial investigation, both arrested suspects confessed that they used to transport narcotics from tribal areas and sell in various districts. They added that they were posing as poultry suppliers to conduct this business.

HR DAY: The social welfare department in collaboration with e-library observed Human Rights Day here on Tuesday.

Social Welfare Deputy Director Mian Muhammad Zahid and e-library in-charge Muhammad Rizwan Ataal addressed a gathering in the library hall and highlighted the importance of this day as the heart of Sustainable Development Goals.

They emphasised that this day must be celebrated as an occasion of shared humanity, equality, justice, freedom to prevent violence and sustain peace. Various NGOs also held similar functions across the district.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2019