JHANG, May 18: Federal interior minister Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat has supported the status of district for Chiniot tehsil.

Addressing a gathering at a village near Chenabnagar, the minister said he believed that Chiniot, by dint of its size, area, population, revenue and strategic location, deserved to be made a district.

Mr Hayat said all rumours being allegedly spread by his opponents that he was thwarting the efforts of people of Chiniot to this effect, were unfounded and malicious.

He said that upgrading Chiniot to district status would by no means diminish the status of Jhang as a district. Jhang was already a big district, spread over a vast area and would still remain large after the separation of Chiniot, he said.

Mr Hayat argued that creation of new districts by bifurcating bigger ones was not a new phenomenon as new districts had been carved out of Lahore, Multan, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Sialkot and Sahiwal in the past.

He said any loss of revenue for the Jhang district after the creation of Chiniot district, would be covered by additional allocation of funds. It is worth mentioning that more than half of the NA-88, the constituency from where the interior minister was elected in Oct 2002, falls in Chiniot tehsil.

YOUTH KILLED: A youth was run over and killed by a speeding truck near Qaim Bharwana on the Jhang-Shorkot road here late Monday. Aamar Raza was crossing the road when he was hit by the truck (JGA-4526). He died on the spot. Shorkot police have registered a case.