BAHAWALPUR, Sept 22: Supreme Court Bar Association President Yaseen Azad said on Saturday that politicians and ulema had miserably failed to persuade the people to hold peaceful protests on Friday.

Talking to media at local circuit house here, he said they could not play their due role to motivate the general public to desist from unbridled violence during demonstrations against the anti-Islam film.

Azad, who chaired for the first time here the meeting of the executive committee of the SCBA, said it was the bar’s policy that where people felt a sense of deprivation, the bar could meet there to remove this feeling among the general public.

In this context, he referred to Balochistan Conference organised by the bar and said during his Quetta visit he felt that serious tension prevailed among Pakhtuns and Balochs there.

He stressed the need to solve the Baloch matters immediately and lawyers should play their role to resolve them.

The SCBA president underlined the need to strengthen all state institutions He said national interests should be given preference over party issues.

Regarding the profane film, Azad said the government should raise this issue at international level and US should apologise to Muslim Ummah.

‘QABZA’ GROUPS: A number of people from Cholistan held a demonstration on Saturday against the ‘Qabza’ groups active in vast areas of the desert.

The Cholistanis, who reached here from far-flung areas of the desert on their motorcycles, held a demonstration in front of the office of Cholistan Development Authority here.

They carried placards and banners inscribed with their demands and chanted slogans against the government officials.

They alleged that a number of influential people with official backing had illegally grabbed their small landholdings.

They alleged that with the connivance of government officials these ‘outsiders’ had grabbed state land and other resources like canal water and earned hundreds of thousands of rupees.

They demanded of the authority to get their lands vacated from the ‘mafia.’

DEMO: A number of residents of village 13-BC and adjoining areas of Yazman Road on Saturday staged a demonstration at DIG Chowk here against alleged corruption of the Baghdad police post officials.

According to protesters, SI Javed Iqbal posted at the police post and his staff allegedly demanded bribe for registration of their FIRs whenever they visited the police post.

Some higher police officials came to the spot and took some protesters with them to listen to their complaints.

RECOVERED: The Civil Lines police claimed on Saturday to have recovered a 12-year old ‘As’ from Naziraabad Colony. She had allegedly been abducted about three months ago.

The police claimed to have nabbed three ‘captors’ Shumaila alias Komal, Majid Saleem and Muzamil and were raiding for arresting their accomplices.

According to police, the gang was involved in flesh trade. Further investigation is under way.