Lodhran's open courts fail to deliver

District administration under fire for holding selective, unpublicised sessions

LODHRAN:

The open courts established by the district administration on government orders are proving ineffective, as applicants and the media remain uninformed about these sessions. The practice of selectively inviting applicants to showcase positive performance to the government continues, raising concerns.

According to sources, the government had instructed local officials to hold open courts to provide justice and resolve public issues. However, in Lodhran, these open courts are neither publicized nor properly communicated to the media.

Recently, the District Police Officer (DPO) of Lodhran held an open court at the District Council, but there was no prior notification or media coverage.

Reports suggest that police officials brought selected applicants to the open court, creating a false impression of the event's effectiveness. This has led to concerns that the DPO is being misled, with reports on the court's success being sent to the government despite the lack of true public participation.

Meanwhile, a defaulter owing over Rs1.3 million, along with his armed accomplices, attacked a MEPCO recovery team, allegedly held them hostage, and physically assaulted them. The attackers also broke the windows of the official vehicle.

As per the application submitted by SDO MEPCO Urban Sub-Division Lodhran Fayyaz Ahmad Khan, to the Sadar police station, the incident occurred when MEPCO's recovery team approached Muhammad Ashfaq, a landlord from Basti Shireenwala, Shahnal, who owes more than Rs1.3 million to MEPCO.

Upon being asked to pay the outstanding bill, Ashfaq called in eight unidentified individuals, armed with weapons and sticks.

Upon arrival, the men began assaulting the MEPCO employees and broke the windows of the official vehicle using sticks.

The attackers then held the employees at gunpoint, locked them in a room, and took their mobile phones and wallets, which contained money. Police arrived at the scene and freed the employees, but the suspects managed to escape.

A case has been registered against the suspects at Sadar police station.

In protest against the assault on their colleagues, MEPCO employees have refused to continue recovery operations and are demanding security protection.