NAROWAL: It is being apprehended that two friends drowned while swimming in the Upper Chenab Canal in Tehsil Sambrial, Sialkot.

According to Muhammad Wasim, spokesperson for Rescue 1122 Sialkot, the emergency service received a call from near Sabez Darbar. The caller reported that two young men had drowned while taking a bath.

Rescue 1122 teams rushed to the scene immediately after receiving the alert. The spokesperson said 20-year-old Azan Haider and 22-year-old Muhammad Shahbaz, both residents of Chak Bara village, were bathing in the canal when the incident occurred.

He said Muhammad Shahbaz accidentally went into deep water and began to drown. In an attempt to save him, his friend Azan Haider jumped in after him. Unfortunately, both were swept away by the strong current and drowned. A rescue operation has been launched to search for the bodies of the two youths.

arrested: The Sialkot police claim to have arrested two drug dealers and seized 18kg of hashish and 222 bottles of local and imported liquor during a crackdown in the area.

Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) Faisal Shahzad told Dawn that the police were receiving complaints against drug peddlers. He said the arrested suspects delivered drugs in the areas of Sambrial, Daska, Pasrur and Sialkot.

He said DSP Mohammad Noman was given the task to arrest drug dealers. He said the police investigative team traced the drug peddlers with the help of informants and advanced technology.

He said the police arrested suspected drug dealer Asad Ali from Pasrur Road and recovered 12.6kg of hashish, 50 bottles of liquor and Rs150,000 from him. A case was registered against the accused at the Sialkot Saddar police station.

The Sialkot DPO said that on receiving an information, the police stopped a suspicious motorcycle rickshaw at Madina Bypass. He said while searching a bag of the driver, the police found 5,240 grams of hashish and 172 bottles of imported liquor.

Muradpur police station also arrested a suspected peddler identified as Junaid and registered an FIR under the Drug Act. The DPO said the arrested suspect sold drugs in Sambrial, Daska, Pasrur and Sialkot.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2025