TOBA TEK SINGH: Two car riders drowned in the Qadirabad-Balloki link canal’s Sagar headworks near Ahmadpur Chattha after their car plunged into the canal on Monday night due to thick fog.

Both deceased people Arsalan and Tariq Ali of Ludhaywala Warraichan, Gujranwala, were returning from Thakur Dewara, Hafizabad, after dropping their friend. When they were passing over the canal bridge, the driver lost control of the steering due to poor visibility, and their car broke the steel shoulders of the bridge, falling into the canal.

In the morning, Rescue 1122’s crane pulled out the car from the canal, recovering their bodies from the vehicle.

NOMINATION PAPERS: A Lahore High Court election tribunal rejected on Tuesday the plea of a citizen of Jhang against the approval of nomination papers of former federal minister and PTI candidate for NA-109 Sheikh Waqas Akram.

Petitioner Khalil Ahmad urged the tribunal to reject Mr Akram’s nomination papers.

Previously, the tribunal had also rejected the plea of another petitioner, Kashif Minhas, on similar grounds against Mr Akram. Also, the tribunal accepted the appeal of Jamaat-i-Islami candidate Mian Muhammad Arshad against the rejection of his nomination papers by the returning officer and allowed him to contest the election from PP-121.

MURDERED: A taxi car driver was murdered on Tuesday in Gojra in Chak 362-JB.

The Gojra Saddar police stated that Ramzan was coming out of his car when his opponents Ahsan Jamil, Tahir Ayub and Muhammad Waqas opened fire on him, wounding him. He was shifted to the Gojra THQ hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The police said that a number of people had previously been murdered in the rivalry between both groups.

DEATH SENTENCE: Gojra Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Zubair Ghouri handed down a death sentence on Tuesday to Faqeer Muhammad of Nawan Lahore’s Chak 338-JB for killing his stepson, Adnan, who was an army soldier.

The court also ordered the convict to pay Rs500,000 as compensation to the heirs of the deceased.

The prosecution stated that after a quarrel over a dispute of share in property, the convict hammered the deceased to death when he was asleep two years ago.

MOU: A memorandum of understanding between the Government College University of Faisalabad and the Punjab Arts Council of Faisalabad was signed on Tuesday for maximum involvement of youth in the promotion of literature and culture.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasir Amin, director of Faisalabad Arts Council Muhammad Abrar Alam, Prof Dr Babak Mehmood, and Dr Kashif Javed participated in the ceremony.

Prof Amin said that the promotion and development of all fields of arts are the guarantee of a sustainable and beautiful society.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2024