BAHAWALPUR, Nov 22: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has directed the Punjab government to set up a sub-campus of National College of Arts (NCA) at the historic Gulzar-i-Sadiq, the palace of the late nawab his highness Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi.

Dawn learnt here on Tuesday that the president issued this directive at Rawalpindi.

He observed that the NCA should also have a sub-campus at Bahawalpur for the students of south Punjab, who wanted to study in the arts.

As regards the selection of the venue, it may be remembered that at present army was occupying the Gulzar Mahal. DCO Muhammad Ashraf opined that prior to the opening of NCA sub-campus at the palace, negotiations for the purpose would have to be initiated with palace owner nawab Salahuddin Abbasi.

He expressed the hope that the president’s directive would be implemented in due course of time.

POLIO: A three-day anti-polio campaign was launched in the district on Tuesday.

Around 500,000 children of five years of age will be administered polio drops for which 1,254 teams of health officials have been constituted.

WOMAN BURNT: Sajjad allegedly set his wife Akhtar to fire in his house in Basti Baqapur here on Tuesday.

It is learnt that Sajjad has been unemployed for quite some time and quarrelled with his wife over a money dispute.

Akhtar was admitted to hospital in serious condition.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
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...