MUZAFFARGARH: The recounting of ballot papers for PP-269 constituency will take place on Thursday (today) on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order.

The returning officer has issued notices to all candidates for the recount.

PPP’s Alamdar Abbas Qureshi, who was declared winner from this constituency, approached the Lahore High Court, Multan bench, to halt the recount. However, the court raised objections to the petition. His lawyers said that after addressing the objection, the writ petition will be filed again.

Independent candidate Iqbal Pittafi approached the RO office for a recount. However, his application was rejected, leading him to appeal to the ECP for a recount. On Feb 8, PPP’s Qureshi secured 34,588 votes, while Mr Pittafi received 33,082 votes. Mr Pitafi alleges that the defeat was orchestrated. However, MPA Qureshi insists that he won, and the people had voted for him.

COTTON SEEDS: Five new varieties of cotton seeds will be introduced this time for farmers to achieve attractive yields.

Deputy Director of Agriculture (Extension) Dr Muhammad Iqbal Khan Niazi stated that the Department of Agriculture was striving to promote early cultivation for improved cotton production. In this regard, the field staff of the department was actively guiding and training farmers.

He made these remarks during a meeting with a delegation of journalists.

Dr Niazi said awareness was being provided to cotton farmers to prioritise the cultivation of triple gene varieties like CKC-01, CKC-03, CKC-06, Hatf-3, Ghori-2, etc. Before planting cotton in canal-fed lands, deep plowing must be done.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024