MULTAN, Dec 16: Tenants of the Peerowal farms of the Punjab Seed Corporation in Khanewal staged a rally on Monday to protest against the arrest of Anjuman Mazareen Punjab’s president Khushi Muhammad Dhola.

The protest rally was organized on the AMP’s call against the arrest of Khushi Dhola and ‘kidnapping’ Pitras Masih, the father of Suleman Masih who was killed during a clash between tenants and law enforcers at Okara Military Farms in August last.

The Peerowal farm tenants gathered at villages 83/10R and 85/10R, chanted slogans against the rangers authorities for arbitrary actions the para-military force had taken against the Okara tenants.

Speaking on the occasion, AMP secretary-general Dr Christopher John expressed concern over the safety of Pitras Masih and feared that he would be coerced at the Rangers Headquarters, Lahore, to withdraw cases his family had filed to get justice on the loss of life of his son. He demanded the release of all the arrested tenants and their leaders, including Khushi Dhola and Anwer Javed Dogar.

He urged the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister to take note of the undemocratic treatment being meted out to thousands of tenants’ families of 21 state-owned agricultural and livestock farms in the province.

MANGOES: The Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Board is likely to engage a French firm to collaborate in production, pre and post harvest handling of Mango and other fruits in Pakistan.

This was stated by PHDEB chairman Malik Afaq Tiwana in a meeting with Mango Growers Association here on Monday.

He said he would soon proceed to France to finalize the deal. The board was seriously considering to set up a modern plant in Multan for grading, washing and packing of the exportable value-added mangoes, he said.

MGA president Syed Zahid Gardezi apprised the PHDEB chief of the issues concerning to mango from farm-to-export level.