GUJRAT: The local cadres of the Pakistan People’s Party have asked senior party leaders to include a stopover of party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari-led long march in Gujrat city.

The march on Islamabad is due to start from Karachi on Feb 27.

A meeting of local party workers was held at the Pagganwala House to review the arrangements for mobilising the masses.

An important political development in the local politics of Gujrat was also observed in the meeting due to the presence of Chaudhry Faisal Mukhtar, the scion of former federal minister (late) Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, as none of the family members of Mr Mukhtar’s family had earlier been active in the Gujrat politics since 2013.

However, the PPP chairman has nominated Faisal Mukhtar as a member of party’s logistics committee that is tasked with finalising route, stopovers and other relevant arrangements for the long march as Sharjeel Memon heads that committee.

Former PPP MNA Sameena Pagganwala, Mian Fakhar Mushtaq Pagganwala, city president Mir Anjum, district general secretary Dr Zahid Zaheer and other party workers stressed the need to include GTS Chowk stopover in the route plan and the party chairman should also deliver a speech.

Sources said that earlier it had been proposed that march should pass through Gujrat bypass with stopover in Lalamusa, the home town of party stalwart Qamar Zaman Kaira.

The PPP cadre from Gujrat and Jalalpur Jattan towns also lodged strong protest against the policy of ignoring Gujrat city that, according to them, had always been an important political station in central Punjab.

Faisal Mukhtar assured the workers that Gujrat city would have a stopover. The PPP workers asked Faisal to become active in Gujrat politics and assured him of their complete cooperation.

A participant of the meeting told Dawn that Faisal Mukhtar would himself lead the reception of long march in Gujrat city. He promised regular visits to the city in future to keep in touch with supporters of his late father.

Murdered: A man and a 20-year-old girl were found murdered at Harrar village of Karianwala police precincts on Thursday.

Police said the initial investigation suggested that a man had first shot the girl dead and later shot himself with the same pistol that was found lying near his body at the scene. The motive behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.

Reports said student Neelum was on her way back home after attending the college and tuition centre in a nearby town, when Ali Raza (25) of the same village intercepted her and opened fire, killing her on the spot.

Later on, Raza, a security guard at a petrol pump, committed suicide by shooting himself dead with the same pistol.

Police reached the spot and found the pistol lying beside his body.

The bodies were shifted to Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Teaching Hospital (ABSTH) for autopsy whereas a team of Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) collected the evidence from the crime scene.

Gujrat DPO Umar Salamat said police had launched the investigation.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2022