Eleven-year-old Muhammad Umar, a student of the MC High School Yaseen Abad, was reportedly tortured at the hands of his teacher, Masood Siddiqui, after being absent for two days. The teacher asked him to bring his father to the school if he wanted to attend classes. However, Umar’s father, Khalid, refused to accompany him to school.

The schoolboy then sprinkled kerosene oil over his body and set himself on fire in front of his school on Friday morning.

He was admitted to the Allied Hospital in critical condition; however, he was pronounced dead Friday night.

Burns Ward In charge Dr Nagra said that Umar, his parent’s only son, had received burn injuries over 90% of his body. Following the incident, authorities of the Education Department immediately suspended the accused schoolteacher as well as the headmaster.

EDO Education Sohaib Imran, however, said that Umar was an irregular student, who had a habit of slipping away from the school without any reason.

“I issued suspension orders of schoolteacher Masood Siddiqui and headmaster Ghulam Fareed with immediate effect. A committee has also been constituted to probe the matter,” he said, but added that the incident was not the schoolteacher’s fault. “The boy became disappointed when his father denied accompanying him to school.”

During the day, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also took notice of the incident and directed the health department as well as the DCO Faisalabad to take all appropriate measures to save the life of the schoolboy.

DCO Faisalabad Naseem Sadiq said that if the school administration is found guilty, they would be dealt with an iron hand.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2012.

The workers protested for more than seven hours on Wednesday over the arrest of their colleague, Maqsood Ahmad, a resident of Chak 67-JB in Saddar, accused of starting a fire at a power loom factory in Thikriwala during a series of protests two years ago.

Nearly 100 power loom workers took out the protest, led by Meeran Pehalwan, the Labour Qaumi Movement president of Saddar chapter. The protesters gathered at the Bypass Chowk in Saddar on Wednesday and blocked Jhang Road for almost the entire day. Chanting slogans against the police, the protesters demanded immediate release of their colleague and withdrawal of the case against him and others.

Maqsood Ahmad was arrested on Tuesday night by the Thikriwala police in a case registered against him in July 2010 under Sections 436, 397 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti Terrorism Act.

In July 2010, hundreds of power loom workers had taken out several protests against the government and had demanded an increase in their wages.

Six men were convicted by an anti terrorism court and awarded 590 years in prison over the riots. Several had gone into hiding.

The Labour Party Pakistan members also condemned the arrest, which they said was done without proper investigation. They said the workers were falsely accused of terrorism.

Labour Party Pakistan General Secretary Younas Rahu said, “The police are arresting innocent workers while the wanted terrorists are roaming around free. Why are they not arrested?”

He demanded withdrawal of case against Ahmed and all the workers who, he said, have been wrongly implicated in police case.

Labour Qaumi Movement Chairman Mian Abdul Qayyum, also a member of the federal committee of the Labour Party, threatened the police with city-wide strike if Ahmed was not released.

In the night, SSP (Operations) Sadiq Dogar tried to persuade the protesters to disperse. At their resistance, he ordered Ahmed’s release. The SSP, however, said that the suspect had been released temporarily, and the investigation would continue.

Later, while talking to The Express Tribune, Qayyum said that the police had released Ahmed as they did not have any other option. “If police arrest him again, they would be responsible for the consequences,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2012.

FAISALABAD: Although Pakistan has 50 million animals in its livestock inventory, average milk production is very low compared to other countries, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan disclosed on Monday. This limits the sector from flourishing, he said.

Addressing an outreach programme and awareness session on the “Mechanism of silage preparation” held at SB Farm in village 71 JB, he said that “only 2% of the farming community were getting 8,000 litres of milk per animal per annum; whereas the rest of the famers were successful in obtaining only 3,000 litres.” The session was arranged by UAF in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and SB Farms.

He said that in a developed country, animals with such low yields are slaughtered as they are considered unproductive and unfit for milk production.

He stressed the need to ensure availability of silage to animals in order to increase yields, as proper usage of silage – conserved grass – is a prerequisite for rearing healthy livestock.

He said that 90% of the farming community comprises small farmers who purchase fodder from the market: if they are provided with silage – they will not hesitate to buy it – thereby boosting the production of milk from their livestock.

He urged the private sector to invest in the silage industry in order to boost milk and meat production and improve foreign exchange earnings.

Faculty of Animal Husbandry Dean Dr Muhammad Sarwar said that famers spend most of their time in producing hay.

“If we transfer silage techniques to farmers, it will help spare their time and manpower; which can be reallocated to other constructive purposes,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, SB Farm owner Bashrat Aziz Jaspal said he had set up a state-of-the-art farm five years ago, in which the latest practices were being implemented. Besides, the farm is also hiring students from various universities, including UAF, he revealed.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2012.

FAISALABAD: A Jhang family has migrated to Kamalia following death threats they said they were receiving from kidnappers of two women of the family, said Muhammad Sadiq, a brother of the abducted women.

He said the family had decided to leave their native village, Chak No463, in view of the threat to their lives by the suspects none of whom had yet been arrested. He requested the government to ensure safe recovery of his sisters. “I will self immolate in front of the chief minister’s house if we don’t get justice,” he said. Sadiq said two cases had been registered with Satellite Town police against nine suspects. The FIR registered on April 5 states that the nine men had raided the family’s home and beaten them for filing a sexual assault case against their five supporters. The sexual assault case had been registered following the kidnapping of the women on February 26. Satellite Town SHO Asif Imran Qureshi said raids were underway to arrest the suspects. He said they had locked their houses in the area and left the village.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2012.

Fr Khalid Rashid Asi, the vicar general of the diocese, said Bishop Joseph was a supporter of interfaith dialogue. He said the bishop chose debate as his weapon against religious intolerance. He said the bishop had been most vocal against discriminatory election laws as well as the blasphemy laws.

Father Samuel George said the deceased bishop was also very good at mobilising people for a cause. “He had dedicated his life to bridging differences between various communities,” he said.

Father Nisar Barkat, the diocesan director of National Commission for Justice and Peace, recalled the time in 1985 when Bishop Joseph had established the commission. He vowed to carry forward his mission.

Joel Amir Sahotra, a minority parliamentarian, said the bishop was not just a religious leader but also a social and a political worker. “He was an expert on many political issues,” he said.

Bishop Joseph had committed suicide on May 6, 1998 to protest the death sentence awarded to Ayub Masih in a case registered under a blasphemy law. He had ended his life in front of the very court in Sahiwal that had awarded the sentence.

A large number of Christians held a special prayer for the bishop and laid a floral wreath on his grave.

Life

John Joseph was born in Khushpur village in Samundari tehsil on November 15, 1932. He served as the Roman Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad from 1984 to 1998.

Bishop Joseph received his religious education at the Christ the King Seminary in Karachi and was ordained in Faisalabad on January 18, 1960. He also served on the faculty of the Christ the King Seminary.

Publications

Several books have been published on Bishop Joseph’s life and work. A Peaceful Struggle is a compilation of his writings on topics related to social justice and peace.

Sermons in Blood is a 110-page book written by writer Gulzar Wafa Chaudhary on the works of the bishop.

Memorial Hall

A hall has been named after Bishop Joseph in Darul Uloom Jamia Rehmania in Faisalabad. Bishop John Joseph Memorial Hall was inaugurated on March 31, 2007.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2012. 

The deceased were identified as Chak No170-GB resident Muhammad Ashraf, his sons Khalid and Jameel and robbery suspects Waseem and Muazzam.

Ashraf’s two daughters suffered bullet injuries and were taken to a tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospital where their condition was described as critical.

A murder and robbery case has been registered with Saddar-Samundri police against 12 men.

Witnesses said over a dozen armed men had attacked Muhammad Ashraf’s house for robbery. They said Ashraf put up brief resistance, killing two of the suspects, but was overwhelmed by the attackers. They said the attackers fled the scene after killing Ashraf and his sons.

SHO Muhammad Usman Khan Lashari, however, insisted that the incident was linked to a rivalry between the two groups and was not a robbery. He said police were gathering crime scene evidence. He said an FIR had been registered under Sections 302, 397 and 109 of the PPC.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2012.

Advocate Chaudhry Masood is accused of hitting Judge Asad Ali with a shoe in the court on May 5.

Civil and sessions court judges, expressing solidarity with the judge, have remained away from their courts ever since.

A session judge, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that some lawyers who wanted court decisions to go in their favour used such tactics to coerce the judges. The lawyer’s licence has been suspended. The protesting judges are now demanding registration of an FIR against him. In a protest of their own, some litigants said that the judges’ suspension of work was creating problems for them.

A District Bar Association spokesperson said that a delegation of senior lawyers would meet the Lahore High Court chief justice today to discuss the incident and a strategy for avoiding such incidents in future.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2012.

The mob, including some relatives of the woman, alleged that the man was caught trying to break into the house. Witnesses said he was brutally beaten up by the mob and paraded through the streets.

Ghulam Hussian, a neighbour, said the crowd abandoned the man in a street after he had fainted from the beating. He was later taken to Dijkot rural health centre by some villagers. From there, doctors referred him to the Allied Hospital in Faisalabad.

Medical officer Dr Ali Naqi told The Express Tribune that the man was given first aid and was now out of danger. He said there were bruises all over his body.

Meanwhile, Dijkot police have registered a rape case against him on a complaint by Anwarul Haq, an uncle of the woman he is accused of seeing.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2012.

FAISALABAD: The average height of Pakistanis has fallen four inches over the last 50 years due to malnourishment and food deficiency.

This was revealed in a workshop on “Applied Nature Need Based research Projects of Food Industries” organized by National Institute of Food Science & Technology (NIFSAT) University of Agriculture, Faisalabad here on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor, UAF Professor Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan, said that cousin marriages were also one of the reasons for the short stature of Pakistanis. He urged the need for new diet packages to be introduced for balanced, affordable food.

Dr Iqrar also expressed concerns over existing eating habits, saying 50 years ago, large amounts of corn flour was traditionally consumed, but over time, Pakistanis had lost the mechanism to cook roti with corn flour, which was a cheaper, healthier staple food item.

Dr Iqrar revealed that a BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition and Dietetics and Food Engineering degree was being initiated for the first time in the country. He hoped that by introducing new disciplines, a trained human resource would be available for the food industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Mehboob Aly Manji, President, VITA Pakistan stressed the need to exploit the indigenous food potential by introducing fruits drinks such as Falsa, Luqat and Jaman. He said that floriculture practices could be most beneficial in uplifting the living standards of small farmers. Manji said Pakistan was exporting 80-90 tons of flowers to Saudi Arabia every year, and this volume could be increased by promoting and incentivizing floriculture.

Professor Dr Faqir Muhammad Anjum, Director General (NIFSAT) said that Nestle Pakistan and VITA Food have signed MOU’s to promote skill development initiatives through short courses.

“NIFSAT has conducted 12 national and international symposia, seminars and workshops during the last year with the collaboration of industries,” he added.

Dr Muhammad Shafique Ch. Director, RAMNA Food, Lahore stressed the need for a value addition mechanism, keeping in view the demand of consumers.

He expressed his concerns over the Punjab government’s decision to purchase 2.5 million ton of wheat this year, given that 4.5 million tons of wheat was stored in the province.

FAISALABAD: Two brothers, a 12-year-old and other 14-year-old, reached a Kamalia police station on Saturday after fleeing from a forced labour camp over a year and a half ago.

Kamalia City Station House Officer Mian Abdur Rauf said they were contacting police in Dera Ismael Khan to locate the family of the two boys. “We have informed several police stations in the region about the boys. Hopefully, we’ll make headway in a couple of days,” he said.

The boys identified themselves as Arslan, 14, and Ali Hasan, 12, residents of Dera Ismael Khan. They said they had fled after over a month at the camp where they were sold by a trucker who kidnapped them from near Dera Ismael Khan. They said 17 other children had escaped with them but gone their different ways.  They said the camp was set up in a mountainous region.

The boys said there were around 50 children at the camp. “We were required to shepherd cattle throughout the day. They fed us only once in a day. We were given a loaf of bread to eat in the evening,” they said.

They said those who refused to eat or work were given electric shocks and beaten up. “Anyone found trying to escape was killed and his body cut into pieces in front of the rest,” they said.

They said they were sold at the camp by a trucker who tricked them into accompanying him on their way home from work. “He (kidnapper) said he had known our father and offered us a ride back home. We were tired after the day’s work at the restaurant and took his offer,” they said.

As they boarded the truck, the children said, the kidnapper sprayed some substance on their face, making them fall unconscious. “Whenever we gained consciousness, he sprayed that substance again,” they said.

The boys said they had been working as helpers at a restaurant some distance from their house. They said they were the only bread-earners for their family of four (a mother, a sister and the two brothers). “Our father had died when we were young,” they said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2012.