FAISALABAD, June 2: The Pakistan Association of Blinds has blamed the government functionaries for recruiting favourites on special seats in violation of rules and instructions issued by the chief minister.

At a PAB executive committee meeting held here on Wednesday under the chair of provincial president Qaim Khan, the participants strongly protested the discrimination by the authorities concerned and special rules framed to prevent the qualified blinds to join the government service.

The meeting noted with concern that teachers from the general education, in clear violation of rules and regulations, had been deputed as heads of the blind schools and institutions just to provide them an opportunity of getting fringe benefits announced by the chief minister for the blind teachers.

It also observed that the blind candidates obtaining top position in the tests in the province were not appointed on vacant seats in different government departments.

The Punjab Public Service Commission also refused to accept the certificates of the Braille competency and the NGOs duly registered by the Directorate of Special Education.

The meeting called upon the Punjab Chief Minister to take stock of the situation and ensure the provision of funds to the institutions of blinds and their recruitments under the set policy and rules.

dies of torture: A villager was tortured to death allegedly by the Nankana police at the behest of a sugar mills' management. Ghulam Ahmad, a resident of Chak 46-GB, Samundri tehsil, told newsmen here on Wednesday that his brother, Zafar Iqbal, was employed at a sugar mills in Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura. He was sacked in 1999 after a tussle with the management over the purchase of sugarcane.

He claimed that the mills management got registered a fraud case against Iqbal with the Nankana police. A fortnight ago, Tarkhani SHO Ashraf arrested Iqbal from his house and took him to the police station where he was subjected to severe torture. On May 24, he was handed over to the Nankana police which also tortured him.

Ghulam Ahmad said last Saturday, the family received a telephonic message from the police that Iqbal was in the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Nankana Sahib. They rushed to the hospital where Iqbal had expired due to police torture.

He claimed that the postmortem report also confirmed the police torture. He urged the chief minister and the inspector general of Punjab police to order the Nankana police to register a murder case against the accused policemen and the mills management.