BAHAWALPUR: The Cholistan Development Authority (CDA) on Wednesday handed over the possession of 1,000 acre land to the descendants of the late Bahwalpur Nawab Muhammad Sadiq Khan Abbaasi V after retrieving from illegal occupants.

Dawn learnt that the CDA officials handed over the possession to the late Nawab’s Shikargah land under the directive of states and frontier region (SAFRON) of federal interior ministry’s special committee after ejecting illegal occupants with the help of a heavy contingent of police from the area located in the blocks Nos 147, 148 and 168 in Cholistan desert.

CDA Director (lands) Liquat Gilani told Dawn on Thursday that the field staff handed over 40 squares (murabba) of land to the legal heirs of Nawab’s son Prince late Mamoonul Rashid Abbasi’s sons Sahibzada Ahmed Rashid Abbasi, Sahibzada Shahr Yar Abbasi and their sister Sahibzadi Dunyazad Abbasi.

According to the director, there were three illegal occupants, who had grabbed their land for the previous many years and they were dislodged from the area with the assistance of police squad.

To a question, Liquat Gilani said there are 23 legal heirs/claimants including 11 princes, as many princesses and three widows to the landed property of the late Nawab.

Last month, the administration had transferred after completion of mutation process of the landed property to princess Zahra Abbasi in Cholistan.

He added that under government’s instructions, the process of the transfer, occupation of landed property to the Nawab’s descendants would continue till its completion as the total area of Shikargah, which would be distributed, was estimated over 312,000 acres.

‘HONOUR KILLING’: A class-VII girl student was allegedly killed in the name of honour by her father at village No.100 in the limits of Lodhran Saddar police station on Thursday.

Girl’s maternal grandfather Shafiq complained to the police that the victim’s father Ajmal had employed one Shiraz of Dera Bakha (Bahawalpur) about two years ago. Ajmal suspected that the man had an alleged affair with his daughter ‘A’ and he removed him from job. Afterwards, the attitude of Ajmal with his daughter became harsh and he occasionally tortured her. On Wednesday night, Shafiq said he learnt that the girl had died. Shafiq alleged that Ajmal suffocated her with a pillow on the instigation of deceased’s grandmother Hameeda.

The police shifted the body to DHQ hospital Lodhran for postmortem examination and registered a case against Ajmal, Hameeda, and two other unidentified men. Ajmal had been arrested.

ARRESTED: Gailiwal police in Lodhran district claimed to have arrested a suspect who allegedly attempted to rape a married woman on Wednesday.

According to police, suspect ‘S’ along with his accomplice entered her house in the absence of her husband and other family members. On her resistance, the suspect inflicted injures on her head with an axe. When she raised an alarm, he along with his accomplice managed to flee.

Police claimed on Thursday to have arrested the suspect.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024