BAHAWALNAGAR: Three officials of the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (Pera) accused of graft and abusing small traders have been fired after a probe found allegations against them guilty.

According to revenue sources, the action against the officials was launched in response to complaints registered by Muhammad Majid and Haider Ali.

Majid had alleged that he was an illiterate person and sold cigarettes by setting up a stall in the city.

He said that out of ignorance, he was selling non-custom paid cigarettes along with custom paid cigarettes.

Pushcart vendor injured during clash between Pera officials, vendors in Fort Abbas

The Pera officials, including Enforcement Officer Hafiz Muhammad Jamshed, Noman and Zubair, were extremely rude to him during a raid and confiscated all the cigarettes, including the custom-paid cigarettes.

Complainant Haider Ali stated that he owned a petrol/diesel agency and Pera personnel took Rs20,000 from him as fine and provided him with a receipt of Rs5,000. When the Chishtian assistant commissioner investigated the complaints, the investigation found three Pera force officials guilty and suspended them from service.

A letter issued on June 4 by Chishtian sub-divisional enforcement officer (SDEO), a copy of which available with Dawn, said the officials were found involved in gross misconduct and corruption.

It stated that these serious acts of corruption had been fully documented and supported by both written and video statements.

According to the revenue sources, several complaints were received on a daily basis concerning Pera officials misbehaving with traders as well as blackmailing and accepting bribes from them under the guise of penalties.

Bahawalnagar Pera SDEO Waseem Hassan said he only handled Pera matters within the limits of the Bahawalnagar city while in the remaining tehsils, the assistant commissioners concerned had been given the additional charge of Pera. He said that in the city, no Pera official was allowed to misbehave with any citizen or shopkeeper, let alone threaten anyone.

Chishtian AC Sahil Rasool was not available for comments.

INJURED: A pushcart vendor was critically injured after a confrontation with the Pera officials in

Fort Abbas on Saturday while some Pera officials received minor injuries after being hit by bricks during the brawl.

Following the incident, the pushcart vendors set some carts on fire during a demonstration.

According to Fort Abbas Pera in-charge, the administration had prepared new and attractive carts and in order to relocate the pushcart vendors, the Fort Abbas AC and Pera Force officials met with them and requested their assistance.

However, he claimed that several pushcart vendors began obstructing public access at Fawara Chowk and staged a demonstration.

He claimed that when a Pera team arrived to speak to them, the demonstrators assaulted the team members with bricks and iron pipes, wounding several Pera officials.

The pushcart vendors, on the other hand, stated that they had already been operating in the locations provided by the administration for years.

They claimed that Pera officials extorted money from them on a regular basis and those who refused were forcibly relocated to isolated locations in the guise of beautification, making it impossible for customers to visit.

They stated that owing to inflation, business had already come to a halt while Pera force was exacerbating the situation.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2026