Day: August 2, 2026

Multan: Additional Commissioner (Revenue) Multan Hafiz Muhammad Mudassar Nawaz on Saturday visited the Farmer Facilitation Center here.

Deputy Director Agriculture (Extension) Shahid Iqbal Cheema and Deputy Director Agriculture (Pest Warning and Quality Control) Syed Ismat Hussain Shah accompanied him during the visit.

The additional commissioner met farmers present at the center, listened to their issues and reviewed the facilities being provided. He directed the Agriculture (Extension) department staff to effectively guide visiting farmers and create awareness about quality agricultural inputs and other facilities available at subsidized rates.

During the visit, he also inspected the advisory register and stock register, directing officials to maintain accuracy and transparency of records.

The additional commissioner, later on, visited a vegetable demonstration plot set up by the Agriculture (Extension) department under the Punjab government’s Sanjhi Sabzi Program, and formally inaugurated the sowing of winter vegetables.

At the conclusion of the visit, he launched a tree plantation drive by planting a fruit sapling at the office of the Deputy Director Agriculture (Extension).

Rawalpindi: Elections for three refugee seats of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will be held tomorrow (Sunday), for which electoral and security arrangements in the Rawalpindi region have been finalized.

The Election Commission has completed all preparations for peaceful, transparent and orderly polling, while the district administration and police have finalized arrangements to implement a foolproof security plan.

According to the Election Commission, a total of 27, 907 registered voters, including 14, 917 men and 12, 990 women, will exercise their right to vote on the refugee seats LA-39 Jammu-6, LA-43 Valley-4 and LA-44 Valley-5. LA-39 Jammu-6 has 20, 807 registered voters, LA-43 Valley-4 has 3, 346, and LA-44 Valley-5 has 3, 754.

A total of 34 candidates are contesting the polls across the three constituencies. In LA-39 Jammu-6, 14 candidates are in the race, including Raja Muhammad Siddique of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Chaudhry Fakhar Zaman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Muhammad Tahir Khokhar of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP). In LA-43 Valley-4, 12 candidates are contesting, including PML-N’s Muhammad Yasin Lone, PPP’s Javed Butt, and IPP’s Hamza Majeed. In LA-44 Valley-5, eight candidates are in the field, including PML-N’s Muhammad Ahmed Raza Qadri, PPP’s Muhammad Rashid Islam, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Hanif Manzoor Dar, and Muslim Conference’s Mehr-un-Nisa.

The Election Commission has set up 192 polling stations for the three constituencies, comprising 155 for LA-39 Jammu-6, 10 for LA-43 Valley-4, and 27 for LA-44 Valley-5. Of the 100 polling stations established in Rawalpindi district for these constituencies, 18 have been declared sensitive, where additional security measures have been put in place.

RPO Babar Sarfraz Alpa said that more than 4, 000 police officers and personnel have been deployed to secure polling stations in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal and Murree.

He said providing voters with a peaceful, safe and conducive environment to exercise their right to vote was the top priority of the regional police, and that all available resources were being utilized to ensure free, fair and transparent elections.

The RPO said special monitoring, effective patrolling and strict implementation of the approved security plan would be ensured at sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations. Suspicious individuals, suspicious activities and those found in possession of illegal weapons would be kept under close watch, while strict legal action would be taken against anyone violating electoral laws and the code of conduct, without discrimination.

He added that close coordination was being maintained with the district administration, the Election Commission and other concerned institutions, and that senior police officers would personally remain in the field to supervise election security. He also appealed to citizens to abide by the code of conduct and immediately report any suspicious activity to police, so that the electoral process could be made peaceful, transparent and secure in every respect.

Rawalpindi: Commissioner Rawalpindi Division and Director General of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Salman Ghani, on Saturday reviewed the progress of ongoing and proposed development projects and directed officials to immediately finalise the Authority’s budget for the financial year 2026-27.

Chairing a high-level meeting at the RDA headquarters, the commissioner reviewed the status of various development schemes being executed by the Authority and stressed the need to complete all ongoing projects within the approved timelines while ensuring quality, transparency and compliance with relevant standards.

The meeting was attended by Additional Director General RDA, Chief Planner Muhammad Tahir Meo, Director Administration Nosheen Israr, Director Finance Masood Arshad, Director Engineering Komal Chaudhry, Director Land Ghazanfar Ali Awan, Director Land Use and Building Control Iftikhar Ali, and other senior officers.

The participants also reviewed the planning and implementation strategy for upcoming development projects to improve urban infrastructure and public facilities in Rawalpindi.

Reviewing the Authority’s financial affairs, Salman Ghani directed the Director Finance and other concerned directors to finalise the RDA budget for 2026-27 without delay.

The commissioner directed all concerned officers to maintain close coordination to expedite the budget preparation process so that development activities and public service delivery could continue without interruption.

Reiterating the Authority’s commitment to planned urban development, he said RDA would continue to focus on improving civic infrastructure and ensuring the effective execution of development projects in the public interest.

He emphasised that regular monitoring, prompt decision-making and strict adherence to administrative and financial rules were essential to achieving the Authority’s development objectives and delivering transparent, accountable and efficient public services.

Sargodha: Police arrested 15 alleged criminals during a crackdown on law-violators across the district, here on Saturday. According to police, teams from different police stations raided various localities and arrested Khalid, Khaleel, Asghar, Nouman, Naveed, Nasrullah, Muhammad Ashfaq, Muhammad Aslam, Tariq, Waqas, Waleed and others.

Police recovered 2-kg hashish, 2-kg opium, 231 liters of liquor, nine pistols, nine guns and 211 bullets.

Further investigation was underway.

Sialkot: A delegation from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Gujranwala on Saturday visited Government College Women University Sialkot (GCWUS) to review preparations for the Matric Position Holders Prize Distribution Ceremony.

The delegation, comprising BISE Secretary Prof. Rashid Ahmed Bhatti, Controller of Examinations Prof. Nadeem Ahmad and Research and Coordination Officer Atif Imdad Tarar, met Vice Chancellor(VC), Prof. Dr. Shazia Bashir to discuss arrangements for the event.

The meeting focused on administrative, logistical and ceremonial preparations to ensure the smooth conduct of the ceremony which will honour outstanding matriculation students for their academic achievements.

The prize distribution ceremony will be held at GCWUS on August 6, where position holders in the matriculation examinations will be recognized for their exceptional performance.