Mandi Bahauddin - Deputy Director District Armed Services Board (DASB) Gujrat Lt-Col Farman visited Mandi Bahauddin on Thursday and held meeting with welfare officers and district office-bearers of Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society (PESS) at DASB Camp Office.
Welfare officers briefed him about problems and difficulties being faced by ex-servicemen and their widows including widows of martyrs of their respective union councils. They demanded establishment of a separate DASB for Mandi Bahauddin. Talking about strength of widows of Shaheeds’, Major (reted) Zafar Warrick said that from 2007 to today about 2,000 soldiers from this district including more than two dozen officers were martyred during anti-terrorism operations and cross border firing in Kashmir. Their windows and other retired and serving soldiers had to visit DASB Gujrat for resolving their welfare matters relating to pension and receipt to outstanding allowances that involve great inconvenience of travelling long journeys and heavy expenditure. They requested that till establishment of a DASB in their district, he should visit the district twice a month to listen to their problems. The deputy director very kindly accepted their request. The deputy director told the meeting that land mafia in Gujrat was all out to occupy DASB building and for that mafia members were using different tactics. They had occupied some area of DASB land and refused to pay rent of DASB shops. He said the district administration was not taking action against the land mafia despite his several requests.