TOBA TEK SINGH: A dozen Christian leaders continued their sit-in on the second consecutive day on Sunday in Christian Colony at Jaranwala over the alleged failure of the government in providing justice to the affectees of riots on Aug 16 in 2023 carried out on the pretext of allegations of blasphemy.

Addressing the protesters, Minority Rights Movement chief Lala Robin Daniel, Shakil Bhatti, Ibrar Younis Sahutra, Pastor Faraz Siddiq, Samson Salamat, Shafiq Goshi, Yassu Bhatti and others said that after the passage of even two years, not a single arrested accused had so far been sentenced by the Faisalabad anti-terrorism court.

They claimed that in the riots, 27 churches and 23 houses were torched by the mob and all nominated accused persons were declared innocent in investigation by police.

They called Christian community and civil society people of all over the country to stage sit-ins as a protest and to demand justice for the affectees.

ACCIDENT: A passenger died and seven others were injured after a bus collided with a trailer going ahead near Chak 360-JB of Gojra on M-4 in the early hours of Sunday.

Both vehicles were going towards Toba Tek Singh. Reports said the bus was bound for Bahawalpur from Islamabad and the accident took place when the bus driver was taking over the trailer. The deceased was identified as bus conductor Imran Liaqat (20), a resident of Lodhran. The injured shifted to Gojra THQ hospital included Muhammad Yar, Usman, Zahid Hussain, Pervez Ameer, Muneeb Ahmad, Amer Nawaz and Sher Ali.

Gojra Saddar police booked a man and his two friends for raping the former’s wife and recording a video of the incident.

The complainant, a resident of Chak 83-JB, Faisalabad, claimed in his FIR that his sister had a dispute with her husband. The suspect decided to punish her by calling his two friends to his home, and administered her intoxicants in some drink. In his presence, both of his friends raped the victim when she was unconscious. It added that the accused made her video.

Also at Gojra in Chak 283-JB, four persons kidnapped a 20-year-old girl. Her father Qaiser Iqbal stated in his FIR that she was alone at home when Saqib and his three accomplices forced their entry and abducted her. Gojra Saddar police registered a case.

MURDER: A man was killed and two were injured over a scuffle between children at Chak 99-GB in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad.

A suspect, Irshad Ahmad, of one of the families involved in the fight opened and killed Ali Asghar (45). He shot Javed Iqbal (40) and Khalid Mahmood (30) who were shifted to Allied Hospital.

SUICIDE: A young man allegedly died by suicide in in Usman Ghani Colony of Ghulam Muhammadabad area of Faisalabad.

He was identified as Muhammad Shakil who killed himself by hanging from a ceiling fan in his house. Reports said the deceased was jobless and was worried about his financial circumstances.

ARRESTED: Federal Investigation Agency Faisalabad arrested from Khushab a former district election commissioner Asghar Ali Daha on charges of corruption.

A press release claimed that Asghar hid the absence from duty of a subordinate for seven months from higher authority and paid him salaries, allowances and honorarium illegally.

In another incident, FIA arrested a proclaimed offender, Gul Bahar Abbas, wanted in a human smuggling case from Talagang, Chakwal. Accused had taken Rs600,000 with fraud from a Faisalabad citizen to send him to the UAE on a work visa.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2025