MUZAFFARGARH: About 500 families of fishermen who live in boats on the river Indus held a protest at Head Taunsa Barrage against the district administration for non-provision of the Nigehban Ramazan package and chanted slogans against the administration.

The protesting fishermen said they went to the deputy commissioner’s office multiple times and asked about the Ramazan relief package announced by the chief minister but they were pushed away by the Kot Addu assistant commissioner. They said their complaint was not heard by the administration though they had not received any relief package.

During the protest, the Sindhu Bachao Tarla has demanded the senior officers of the relevant departments to take action against the responsible officials after investigation.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had issued the orders to the district administration to provide ration bags at the doorsteps of the deserving people but against her directions in the Union Council Budh, the district administration of Kot Addu has set up a relief centre at the basic health unit where the people feel shy to get in the queues to get ration bags. Some of the families in the union council, including those of landlords and public officers who don’t deserve to get the relief package, had been included in the list while the poor have been ignored by the revenue officials.

One Riaz Hussain Pawli said he had no land and no bank account while he was not a BISP beneficiary too but the revenue officials had ignored him and his family. He said he would complain to Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz whenever she would visit Muzaffargarh. The people of Basti Allahwali, Basti Sheikhan and Indus River, Mauza Mutwaniwala and Qaimwala are not getting the Ramazan relief package.

When Dawn contacted Deputy Commissioner Munawar Abbas Bukhari, he said the lists were received from the high-ups but added that he was looking into the matter.

MURDER: A man shot his wife dead in tehsil Jatoi.

Abdul Rauf opened fire on his wife N with a pistol when was working at home. There are reports that Rauf suspected that his wife had a relationship with some man; however, the neighbours said Rauf was an addict and that his wife was innocent.

The Jatoi police shifted the body to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) for a post-mortem registered against the suspect.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2024