Death to killers of Imperial Cinema owner

LAHORE - Additional District and Sessions Judge Shahzad Kayani on Wednesday awarded death sentence to two brothers -- Ali Abbas and Nadeem Abbas -- on the charges of killing a woman, namely Nasim Sharif, the widow of Brigadier (r) Sharif, over the issue of a property of Imperial Cinema. The court awarded lifetime imprisonment to two brothers besides imposing fine of Rs 50,000 each and also directed them to pay Rs 0.1 million as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased. During entire hearing, the court kept the orders of declaring former inspector Abid Boxer as proclaimed offender. The court had also issued the arrest warrants of the inspector owing to his disappearance from the trial proceedings. According to details, the accused had abducted Nasim Sharif and later killed her on a property issue. Later, police had registered a case against Ali Abbas, Nadeem Abbas and Abid Boxer. It was told that the deceased was the owner of Imperial Cinema, and the accused killed over the property issue. NOTICE?TO?FEDERAL?IRRIGATION?SECRETARY: Acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court, Sheikh Azmat Saeed, on Wednesday issued notice to the Federal Secretary Irrigation and Chief Engineer of Greater Thar Canal on petition filed by 42 contractaul employees of the Irrigation Department who are facing their possible removal. The court also sought from the respondents a comprehensive reply to the petition by July 27. The petition has been filed by Imran Raza and 41 others inter alia submitting that they were inducted in Wapda in 2003 and worked for about seven years on various development projects of the federal government in collaboration with irrigation department as contractual employees. The employees said they were not regularized by Wapda despite that as per rules and regulations of wapda contract employees should be regularized after three years of service. They said later in 2010 Wapda by way of a swap of employees placed their services at the disposal of the irrigation department which also did not confirm them. On the top of every thing they are being removed from jobs and the secretary irrigation has given an advertised in the newspapers for fresh appointments in their stead on which they have been working, the employees said. The irrigation department has stopped our salary in June and we were asked to apply against the vacancies as per the new advertisement and qualify the tests and interviews to remain in service, they said referring to the alleged foul playing going on in the department. They said they will be appointed on contract again if they applied against the new advertised posts which will be an injustice to them in views of eight years of their service on contract first in Wapda, then in irrigation department. They prayed to the court to pass a restraining order against their likely dismissal from service and direct the respondents to induct them in the department and release their salary for the month of June.