BAHAWALPUR: The Lahore High Court, Bahawalpur bench, on Thursday granted seven-day protective pre-arrest bail to Punjab former chief minister Sardar Usman Buzdar in an alleged corruption case.

The ex-CM apprehended his arrest in a corruption case, which was registered against him by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment. The ACE had attempted to nab Buzdar and conducted raids in Lahore the other day but could not arrest him.

According to his counsel Makhdum Hashmi, an application for the pre-arrest bail was filed with the Bahawalpur bench which was fixed for hearing on Thursday.

According to Hashmi, Justice Muhammad Tariq Nadeem granted him bail before arrest for a week till May 11.

GANG SMASHED: The Dhoorekot police claimed on Thursday to have smashed a women’s gang allegedly involved in blackmailing the people and arrested two of its members.

According to PRO Umar Saleem of DPO, two women Ms Shabana and Ms Zarina allegedly blackmailed Shoaib, a salesman of a factory, who also paid them over Rs900,000. The women had kept him in illegal confinement and forced him to be compromising with them.

According to police, the complainant claimed that he paid them heavy amount but didn’t commit adultery. The police on Shoaib’s complaint registered a case under sections 376, 342 and 511 of Pakistan Penal Code and lodged them in Dhoorekot lock-up. Police said the suspects were being interrogated.

HOSPITAL WASTE: Lodhran Deputy Commissioner Syed Mashad Kazmi has warned of action against the administration of those hospitals which failed to dispose of hospital waste in accordance with the hygienic principles.

Presiding over a meeting in Lodhran on Thursday, the DC directed the medical superintendents of THQ hospitals present in the meeting to observe rules in this respect otherwise strict action would be taken against them and their subordinate staff.

FESTIVAL: The 88th edition of the two-day Pakistan Learning Festival concluded in Multan on Thursday.

The event was organised by Idara-i-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) in collaboration with south Punjab school education department. Additional Secretary Agha Zaheer Abbas Shah along with ITA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Baela Raza Jamil opened the festival.

According to ITA’s press release, the festival comprised over 20 sessions during which more than 8,000 children, teachers and resource persons participated.

A number of resource persons from different organisations conducted sessions on various topics including storytelling, importance of magazines and new trends of digital world for literature, climate change, science and its experiments, green hour by WWF, arts and crafts, blue pottery of Multan, life skills through digital safety and security.

The host schools’ children performed by singing, playing instruments, folk dance, creative writing, art of book making, digital learning, book fair, mobile learning library and many interactive arts and traditional crafts and installed food stalls as well.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2023