Pakistan People’s Party, Faisalabad chapter, took out a rally to condemn the verdict of Lahore High Court, restricting President Asif Ali Zardari from taking active part in political activities. The rally participants, led by the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Raja Riaz, expressed their anger over the decision. Every body was in a traditionally angry mood and was quick to support his leadership. Raja Riaz, in his fiery speech, said: “We do not accept the LHC verdict and will go in appeal in the Supreme Court,” he said. He said Sindh had already received dead bodies of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto from the Punjab. He said the next dead body would be from Punjab. However, he did not elaborate his point any further.
Other speakers included City PPP President Rana Mushtaq Ahmed, Nadeem Aftab Sindhu, Malik Esmail Seela, Asghar Ali Qaisar, Vice President Kamran Dar, Saeed Sajid, Sagheer Awan, Baoo Afzal, Mehar Abdur Rasheed, Zafar Iqbal Tahir. Ashfaq Bahwa, Rubina Butt, Shazia Bibi, Manzooran Naz, Taseer Iqbal and Sheikh Yaseen.
POULTRY FARMERS protest AGAINST RGST: An imminent imposition of 16 percent RGST on poultry products in the upcoming budget has prompted poultry farmers to stage protest rallies to pressurise the government to withdraw the proposed taxation mechanism. The poultry farmers warned the government that chicken price might shoot up to Rs 350/kg in the event of the proposed RGST on poultry. Pakistan Poultry Association Faisalabad (PPAF) held a protest rally to condemn the upcoming imposition of RGST on poultry industry and demanded the authorities to review the decision which, according to them, is likely to close a lot of poultry farms, cause unemployment of poultry workers and increase chicken and egg prices in the consumer market.
The rally participants included PPAF office bearers Dr Masood Sadiq, Dr Kashif Minhas, Dr Zahid Iqbal, Dr Abdus Samad, Shahid Bajwa, Zonal Executive Committee member of PPA (Punjab Zone) Saleem Akhtar, and others
The speakers said the poultry industry was already paying heavy taxes to the government and with the introduction of RGST and the value-added tax the prices of chicken will double after the budget. The protesters said poultry was a demand-supply business and it was the only commodity in Pakistan that lowered prices from time to time to adjust the consumer market contrary to beef and mutton prices.
“It is estimated that there is an investment of Rs 350 billion in the local poultry business. The poultry farmers say that due to high price of diesel and unavailability of electricity and gas, the poultry industry is already facing a crunch. A veterinary doctor in the rally said all the neighbouring countries, including India, Bangladesh, Iran and Sri Lanka, had never imposed sales tax on poultry. “The European Union, Britain and America never thought of imposing sales tax on poultry, rather they gave special subsidy for the development of poultry to provide cheapest food,” he said and added RGST would cause Rs 100 billion loss to 25,000 poultry sheds many of which would close their business. He feared that the price of poultry feed would increase Rs 2,000 per bag after the new taxes. The poultry industry sources say that withdrawal of zero rating on processed, branded, value-added chicken attracting 16 percent GST, would defeat the government’s earlier policy of encouraging value addition to attain qualitative and quantitative objectives and, more importantly, bringing about stability in poultry product prices to expand the production base and promote export.
FATHER INJURES DAUGHTER OVER ‘HONOUR’: A woman who married her lover two years ago was critically wounded by her father. Najma Bibi, a resident of Yaray Wala Village in Shorkot eloped with her lover Safdar two years ago and married him. Her father, Muhammad Iqbal, continued to persuade her to leave him and come back. After a long negotiation with the husband through Panchayat, the husband was forced to divorce Najma Bibi who was handed over to her father as a part of the settlement. The accused Mohammad Iqbal and his accomplice Safdar seriously injured Najma Bibi by firing. She was seriously injured but they did not take her to hospital for treatment and kept her in their house waiting for her death. Someone called the police who raided the house and took her to hospital.
FAKE TRAFFIC MAGISTRATES ARRESTED: Thikriwala police arrested two high-profile fraudsters in a Pajero for impersonating as traffic magistrates. Ejaz Ahmed and Asrar Ahmed had put revolving lights on the vehicle with green-colour registration plate numbers and were busy in receiving fines from buses and trucks on the spot at Jhang Road.
Aerial firing claims life: Aerial firing during a wedding ceremony took another life when Muhammad Asif, a resident of Chak No 545 GB, was hit by a stray bullet. Tandlianwala police registered a case against the groom and his father, but no arrest has so far been made.