BAHAWALPUR: Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq has alleged the Senate tickets were sold out for Rs350m.

He was addressing a ‘Mehngai March’ at GPO Chowk here on Friday.

Siraj condemned the unopposed election of 11 senators in Punjab and said that both the opposition and government, with mutual compromise within a night, got senators of their parties elected.

He said if the people failed to stop these parties in their bargaining, they would continue to harm the common man.

Criticising the PTI government, Siraj said the party had raised the slogan of Madina-like state but failed to take even one step to achieve this objective. Instead, he added, that PTI strengthened the interest system in the country.

He said Imran Khan had brought incompetent people in his cabinet who failed to deliver.

He said that PTI had done nothing for the common man during its 2.5 years rule and now Imran was saying that five years were required for the change in the country.

JI vice president Liaquat Baloch, secretary general Amirul Azeem and Kisan chief Jam Hazoor Bakhsh also addressed.

Earlier, on his arrival, Siraj was accorded a warm welcome by his JI’s activists at the Sutlej highway bridge near the toll plaza. He was brought in a big rally to Kashmir Park near GPO Chowk where he delivered his address.

ACCIDENT: Four schoolchildren were injured in a bus accident near Head Rajkan, about 50km from here.

According to Imran Ahmed of Rescue 1122, the school bus was on its way to Yazman when it skidded off the road and overturned.

The rescuers think speeding was the cause of the accident.

Four schoolchildren who were injured were identified as Tanzila Anwar (15), Muhammad Shoaib (8), Muhammad Zeeshan (10) and Mukhtar Ahmed (15).

However, one of them, Mukhtar, was shifted to the Bahawal Victoria Hospital where he was stated to be in stable condition. Other students were given first aid on the spot.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2021