OKARA: Muhammad Ramzan Nadeem Channer and Rana Fida Mohyuddin were declared Okara District Bar Association (DBA) president and secretary by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) appeal committee.

The PBC appeal committee-2 for Punjab, headed by Abid Saqi, with members Azam Nazir Tarrar, Wajid Shah and Qalb-i-Sajjad, heard in the Lahore office both rival candidates’ counsels and declared Channer and Rana Fida winners for session 2020.

The matter landed with the appeal committee after the Jan 11 polling was marred by fighting and a case was registered by election board chairman Shahid Hameed against 20 people, including five nominated from the Sangoka group.

Later, the election board member Najamus Saqib notified Sangoka as winner while another member Shahid Hameed notified Channer as president.

The multiple decisions paralysed the bar working. Earlier, the PBC appeal committee made a seven-member committee, headed by PBC member Bhandara, but the committee could not reach a decision.

The PBC appeal committee has deputed Punjab Bar Council member Ghulam Sarwar Nighang and former Lahore High Court Bar Association president Pir Masood Chishti to hand over the winner the notification to the president and the secretary at the DBA Quaid-i-Azam Bar Hall.

KILLED: A highway man was killed late on Wednesday near Ali Park Villas at 2/4 L Link Road in an encounter.

According to the first information report registered by City A-Division Inspector Tariq Awan, the patrolling police was alerted about the presence of the three robbers on 2/4L Link Road adjacent to Suffa School.

The police party rushed to the scene with Elite, Dolphin and City A division police as reinforcement. Seeing them, robbers started firing at police, which was retaliated. After a few minutes, a body was found by the roadside while two other robbers fled.

The body was shifted to the DHQ-city hospital mortuary.

The deceased was identified as Fakhar Hayat, of village Lalo Guddar near Basirpur.

The body was handed over to the family after postmortem.

A case into the incident has been registered with City A Division police under sections 353, 392, 324 and 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 13-2 of the Punjab Arms Ordinance1965 with Amended Arms Ordinance 2015.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2020