BAHAWALPUR: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Multan Circle claimed to have arrested four suspected human traffickers, who allegedly extorted hefty amounts from a number of people on the pretext of sending them abroad.

According to FIA sources, the suspects -- Saeed Ahmed, Zulfiqar Khan, Zafar Iqbal and Belal -- were arrested from Bahawalpur and Multan areas.

The sources say that Saeed allegedly extorted Rs650,000 from a complainant on the pretext of sending him to Saudi Arabia, while Zulfiqar Khan and Zafar Iqbal received a sum of Rs420,000 from a man on the pretext of providing him a job in Dubai. Similarly, Belal extorted Rs550,000 from a man, promising a job in Kyrgyzstan.

After their arrest, the suspects were lodged in the FIA lock-up, where they were being interrogated by officials.

ROADS REPAIR: The Bahawalpur District Coordination Committee (DCC) has recommended allocation of Rs1.30 billion to the Punjab government for the repairs of the 57 roads damaged by the recent floods in the district.

The recommendation was made at a meeting of the DCC held here on Monday under its convener, MPA Shoaib Owaisi, while MPAs Khalid Jajja, Hassan Askari Sheikh, Syed Aamir Ali Shah, Sahibzada Gazean Abbasi and Deputy Commissioner Dr Farhan Farooq were also present, besides highway department officials.

According to a handout, the meeting was apprised of the damaged road infrastructure in the district during the August floods and that an amount of Rs1.30bn was required for its rehabilitation.

The committee recommended to the Punjab government allocation of the necessary funds so that the roads could be repaired as soon as possible to provide relief to the people, particularly the farmers, who have to carry their crops’ yield to the local grain and vegetable markets.

It expressed apprehensions that if the required funds were not made available at the earliest, it might harm the agricultural economy of the area as the 57 roads damaged by the floodwaters mostly included farm-to-market roads in rural areas.

The handout added that the highways department officials informed the DCC that the Punjab communication and works (C&W) department had already been moved for the funds allocation, and the response was awaited.

FOUND DEAD: A man was found dead in his house under mysterious circumstances on Sunday night.

According to Baghdadul Jadid police and Rescue 1122 officials, the deceased, identified as Anees (50) was a waiter at a restaurant in Satellite Town, Bahwalpur, and was alone in his house in Muslim Town area for the last one week as his wife had gone to her brother’s house.

On her return, she found a room of the house locked from inside, after which she called Rescue 1122. When rescuers reached there and broke open the door, Anees was lying dead on the floor while a scarf (dopatta) was found tied to the ceiling fan.

The police’s crime scene and forensic units collected evidence from the room and shifted the body to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) for the postmortem examination.

According to the police, a case would be registered in the light of the postmortem examination report.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2025