RAHIM YAR KHAN: A 10-day conflict between the Khanpur tehsil bar council and the tehsil administration came to an end on Monday as the legal community agreed to surrender the possession of state land the lawyers had illegally occupied for construction of chambers.

On Aug 18, the conflict between the Khanpur bar and the tehsil administration over the issue of lawyers chambers had intensified as police registered a case against a peon of the council.

According to lawyers, the quarrel started a week back when some young lawyers started to occupy a piece of land of Municipal Committee (MC) between the tehsil courts and Markazi Eidgah to construct their chambers due to shortage of their accommodation. But the MC staff intervened and pushed back the lawyers from the premises after thrashing them.

Meanwhile, police registered an FIR against the Khanpur TBC general secretary and later another case was filed against the president and some lawyers on the complaint of MC staff.

Lawyers said there was shortage of chambers for their junior colleagues and they wanted to construct new chambers on the land which was not being used for any purpose.

On the other hand, Khanpur Assistant Commissioner Shabbir Ahmed Dogar told Dawn that on Aug 11, some lawyers entered the premises of district council and MC tax collection offices when the staff went home after locking the rooms. But lawyers broke open the locks, collected files and occupied the land. The MC staff called 15 about the illegal occupation of land.

Dogar said he talked with the bar president that this was the land of Board of Revenue, government of Punjab.

He alleged that that lawyers targeted his office and threatened his staff.

A senior members said the lawyers have surrendered the possession of state land. But in the release it was not mentioned that offices of district council and MC allegedly possessed by the lawyers were returned to the administration.

ROBBERY: Dacoits looted Rs1 million in cash from two motorcyclists near City A Division police station on Monday noon.

Reports said Naveed and an unidentified person, residents of Chak 131-P, got cash from a shop. As they reached an eatery on the bank of Nowshehra Minor canal and were parking their bikes, two men riding a motorcycle approached them.

The suspects held them hostage at gunpoint and made off with the cash.

Despite the City A Division police station being very close to the scene, the team arrived late.

The law and order situation has worsened over the last 10 days, with an increase in incidents of cash snatching. On Sunday, two dacoits on a motorcycle entered Awan Super Store on Shahbazpur Road. However, the shopkeeper opened fire on the suspects as a result they escaped leaving their motorcycle there.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2023