MULTAN, July 27: The central leadership of Anjuman Mazareen Punjab has once again cast away the possibility of any deal that may threaten their status as tenants.
According to a press release issued here on Saturday, the Khanewal DCO had informed Peerowal tenants of the Punjab Seed Corporation that they would have to sign a one-year lease for the lands under their tenancies. The Anjuman leaders however said they would not strike deal with the government under coercion.
In a joint statement, Chaudhry Abdul Jabbar, Dr Christopher John and Younas Iqbal said tenants of state-managed agriculture and livestock farms in the Punjab would neither sign lease deed nor opt for alternative lands.
They said anjuman would broaden the scope of its movement especially in areas where its leaders had never interacted earlier. The recent addition to the anjuman fold was the Sargodha livestock farm spread over an area of 10,000 acres with a population of around 50,000 souls, they claimed.
Anjuman leaders urged the Punjab government to demonstrate true will in resolving the issue of tenants. They underlined the need that instead of the military authority, representatives of the Punjab government should enter in dialogue with the tenants.
MEERWALA CASE: Proceedings of the second day of regular trial of the Meerwala gang-rape case could not be held on Saturday due to the province-wise strike of lawyers.
All the 14 accused charge-sheeted were, however, produced before court which adjourned the case till July 29 as neither the prosecution nor the defence lawyers turned up due to strike.
The chief public prosecutor of ATCs in the Punjab, Asghar Gill, special public prosecutor in the case, Ramzan Khalid Joiya, and a senior defence counsel, Malik Muhammad Saleem, are the Punjab Bar Council members.
The judge has called all prosecution witnesses on the next date of hearing. Only two doctors of Jatoi RHC, who had recorded their statements, were not asked to reappear as their statements had already been cross-examined by defence lawyers.