SADIQABAD - A panchayat declared an eight-year-old girl as vani and has been forcing her father to marry her off to a 28-year-old man to settle the love-marriage dispute of her uncle here in Roshan Bheet area.
According to Zulfiqar, father of eight-year-old Aliya, the panchayat convened to settle the love-marriage issue of his brother. He said that his brother had contracted court marriage with a local girl but he had nothing to do with this issue.
According to locals of the area, the panchayat was held by the local UC chairman wherein the elders declared Aliya, 8, as vani and decided to marry her off to 28-year-old Ismail, brother of the girl who has contracted the court marriage. The panchayat also fined Zulfiqar Rs0.8 million.
Zulfiqar said that the panchayat was held by influential people of the area who declared his minor daughter as vani to settle the dispute erupted between the families over love-marriage. He alleged that the panchayat elders are blackmailing him into paying the fine and immediate marrying off his minor daughter. "Otherwise, they will kill my family members," he expressed his concern.
He appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the LHC Chief Justice and the Punjab IG Police to provide him protection and save the life of his minor daughter.
SQI equates rulers
with terrorists
The rulers are crueller than terrorists who have been sucking blood of the poor public for the last four years, the Saraikistan Qaumi Ittehad (SQI) president said.
SQI president Kh Ghulam Fareed Koreja regretted that unprecedented corruption has been carried out in the state-run departments, adding that the rulers and the bureaucracy is responsible for current miserable of the public. He said that the masses should oust the rulers as the country could no more bear their burden.
PEDDLER HELD WITH DRUGS
The police claimed to have held a notorious drug-peddler from Tibba Balochan here the other day.
According to police, a team of the City Police, on a tip-off, conducted a raid in Tibba Balochan area and arrested Muhammad Umair with 150g of drugs. The police put the accused behind bars and registered a case against him.