SIALKOT, Feb 9: Farmers have expressed grave concern over the shortage of sunflower seeds in Sialkot district. Talking to newsmen here on Monday , Punjab Farmers Rights Protection Forum chairman Mirza Ehsan Baig said that the dealers had created an artificial shortage of sunflower seeds in Sialkot, Daska, Bhopalwala, Sambrial, Uggoki, Pasrur, Chowinda and Badiana.

As a result, hundreds of farmers could not cultivate sunflower in their fields. Mr Baig said that the target of sunflower crop cultivation in Sialkot district would not be achieved. He urged the provincial and district governments to take effective measures in this regard.

SHOT DEAD: A boy was killed while another was injured by the firing of a youth on the wedding of a landlord in Kotli Baarey Khan village (Shakargarh tehsil) on Sunday night.

Police said that during Rasm-i-Hina of landlord Mubashar Khan Asif Khan opened firing in the air. Some stray bullets hit Asad Ali, 12, and Mehtab Khan, 13. Asad died on the spot, while Mehtab was admitted to a Shakargarh hospital where his condition was stated to be critical. Noorkot police registered a case with no arrest.

BODY STORED: No family member came to receive the body of Qaisara Bibi and the Edhi Foundation has kept it at the mortuary of Sialkot DHQ Hospital.

Qaisara, 23, was shot dead by her father and four brothers on Saturday when she attempted to save the lives of her uncle Shafiq and his wife Shamim Bibi. Khaliq and his sons Kamran, Rashid, Zaheer and Nasir later killed Shafiq and his wife over a property dispute in Bagh locality of Sialkot. Kotwali police have yet to arrest the killers.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...