TOBA TEK SINGH, July 31: A Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader has criticised the district government for ‘humiliating’ the Food Stamp Scheme applicants recommended by PPP assembly members, being probed about their financial status in open courts.

District government and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) officials have, however, denied the allegation.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, PPP City President Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali said the deputy district officer (revenue) had grilled the applicants from the PP-86, where from Population Welfare Minister Neelum Jabbar was an MPA, in open courts about their income and other contents of their applications. He added that Health Department officials, patwaris and public school teachers were also humiliating the applicants in rural areas. He said a couple of days ago the DDO called the scheme applicants from Union Council 54 and 56 in the Government Primary School No 4 and interrogated widows, disabled and other deserving people in insulting way. He said such an open humiliation led the applicants to protest who said that it was too dear a price to get Rs1,000 per month. He claimed such open courts were not being held in the constituencies won by the PML-N.

PML-N City President Malik Shaukat Ali, however, alleged that Ms Jabbar had distributed all 5,500 application of the scheme to her party workers. In a press statement, he said widows and needy people from the PML-N had been ignored.

He demanded the chief minister take notice of the situation and send more forms for the people.

District Coordination Officer Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had issued directions that MNAs and MPAs were allowed to identify the applicants but it was the duty of government officials to verify the contents of the applicants without any discrimination so that only deserving person could get the aid.