The Nation


Suthra Punjab
workers

lodge


protest; demand
payment of salaries

OUR STAFF REPORTER.
“      LAHORE ;


‘Large-scale protests” by sanitation
, workers employed under the Punjab
government's flagship Suthra Punjab
: programme caused severe traffic dis-
ruption across City on Wednesday, as
workers demanded the immediate
: payment of outstanding Salaries, the
: release of a promised Eid bonus, and
* the resolution of other employme:
‘related grievances, Groups of work:
ers gathered at ‘major intersections
“and,  blocked. key roads,. triggering
“hours-long traffic congestion across
‘several parts of the provincial capital.
_ Long queues of bus-:-
=es, cars, motorcycles
;and rickshaws were;
ireported. as thou-


Disrupt traffic :

has Tejected allegations of irregulari-

ties, Meanwhile, Punjab Information
Minister Azma Bokhari: dismissed
Teports suggesting a province-wide

‘breakdown_ in. sanitation, services,
Ina statement shared on X, she said

cleanliness operations “ were “ con-
tinuing normally across Punjab, par-
ticularly in Lahore, and pointed to
the. sanitation arrangements during
Eid-ul-Adha and Muharram as evi-

‘dence of the programme's effective-
ness, Addressing concerns over’ the.

Eid bonus, Bokhari ‘said a limited

number of workers had. expressed

‘Feservations regarding the payment
‘Process. She stated that the Suthra
” Punjab: administra-.
tion’ immediately
- held talks with the
affected employces,,


sands of commuters ip, Citus Mini      * assured” them . that
remained; stranded   in City: Minister . bonuses would” be
i while traffic wardens   dismisses reports i  paid . nm accordance
=Struggled to manage      ey      s:. ~ with the policy, an
: the gridlock. Protest-  of breakdown IN. resolved the matter.
:   id they had re-    94 he      .    She added that sani-
Toe Sey tated cane SdNitation services wy ae or

“peatedly raised con-
; cerns over delayed -
: salaries, unpaid benefits and deduc-
tions in wages but claimed their com-
{plaints had not been resolved despite
: assurances from the authorities. They
maintained that they would continue
; their “demonstration - until a clear
timeline is provided for the payment
of outstanding dues and the imple-
; mentation of promised benefits. The
demonstrations come amid growing
scrutiny of the Suthra Punjab initia-
; tive, a Ragship sanitation programme
“launched by the’: Punjab { govern-
“ment to improve waste management
= across the province, While the project
_ has been credited with strengthening
:cleanliness operations and providing
“employment to thousands of work«
;ers, labour-related complaints have
“Increasingly surfaced during Its first
year, Workers and labour represen-
/tatives have alleged delays in salary
‘payments, contractual disputes and
other workplace concerns, while crit-.
ies have'also raised questions about
ithe programme's financial manage-
“ment... The  Provincial “government


tation: “ operations
had continued with-
out. interruption. The minister de-
scribed Suthra Punjab as one of the
world's largest waste management
programmes, saying’ it : provides

‘employment ,to around . 180,000

families, She said workers are being.
paid at least the minimum wage
and that the project is monitored

‘through a transparent digital sys-

tem designed to jsafeguard em-
ployee welfare and operational ac-
countability. Bokhari also'alleged

‘that ‘certain’ elements: were “.at-

tempting to spread misinformation
about the programme, while insist-
‘ing that. workers‘ representatives

‘and unions continue to cooperate

‘with the Punjab government and
the Suthra Punjab administration
to ensure -unlnterrupted public
services, Despite the government's
assurances, negotiations between
officials and_ protesting: workers

“were continuing, with demonstra-

tors insisting they would not end

‘their sit-in until their salary and bo-

nus demand  are fulfilled.”


Over 35,700 illegally residing foreign .
nationals repatriated: Police;

, LAHORE (Staff Reporter): Punjab Po-
* lice on Wednesday said it has deport-
3ed 35,719 illegally. residing foreign
: nationals, including Afghan nationals,
; from across the province as part of the
“ongoing repatriation drive, Accord-
{ing to a Punjab Police spokesperson,
}.72 individuals are currently present
vat various holding points while the


Lahore police stand with aggrieved

families, say CCPO, Commissioner
ara       a


repatriation process’ continues, The
‘spokesperson said those repatriated
include more than 14,000 men, 7,138
women and 14,529 children. Among
them, 11,047 were holders of Proof of

.Residence (PoR) documents, 11,135

‘possessed - Afghan Citizen . Cards
(ACC), while 13,537 were foreign na-
tionals residing in Pakistan illegally. <


LAHORE: Three | lady police 0 on their way on a City road riding a scottie.—

Wire photo*


TIAP plans joint LG
poll strategy in Punjab.


“OUR STAFF REPORTER
LAHORE


The Pain   chapter of the Tehiéeke -e-Taha-.
Fuz-e-Ayin-e-Pakistan’ (TTAP)..on Tuesday

announced plans to hold a series of work-|

ers’ conventions across Lahore and begin
consultations on a joint opposition strategy.

for the upcoming local government elec-'
— ed.
Also announces: “expression ‘and democratic’

tions, while expressing con-
cern over what it described
as curbs on political freedoms”
and democratic rights. The de--


further widen the trust deficit between the
state and the opposition. The meeting also °
criticised the recent Supreme, Court ruling =
‘on PTI's election symbol, with participants
arguing that. the decision would adversely
affect the principle of a level electoral play-
ing field and fair political representation.
The alliance also opposed the Punjab Con-,
trol of Habitual Offenders Bill, describing
the. proposed legtslation
‘as ‘a threat to freedom ‘of

“tights. Participants alleged

cisions were taken at a meet-*       ‘workers’ $s        that the law, In its present
ing of TTAP Punjab held in La-;                                   + form, could be used to curb
hore to review the Provailing     -conventions’     _dlssent sand political activity
political situation in the prov-'                           :under the guise of maintain-.
ince and discuss the alliance’s : .    across City     “ing public order, On organ:

organisational ‘priorities for
the coming weeks. The meeting was at-
tended by Ammar Jan and Haider Butt of the
Haqoogq-e-Khalq Party (HKP), Mian Akram
Usman, Shayan Bashir and Yasir Gillani of.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and Farooq
Tariq of HKP. The participants criticised the
reported denial of permission to Mahmood
Khan to travel to Kashmir; describing it as a’

continuation of what they termed restric:
tions on the political activities of oppost-,

tion leaders,. They said such actions could


Isational matters, the meet
ing decided to launch a series of Workers’
Conventions across Lahore. to strengthen
grassroots. mobilisation and improve co
ordination among workers ahead. of the
focal government ‘elections. Participants
also agreed to‘ initiate consultations on
a joint opposition strategy for the local
government polls, focusing on seat adjust- *
ments and coordinated electoral planning
among allied parties, to minimise vote
splitting. ;


Thursday, July 02, 2026:

“GIRLS KIDNAPPING, :


: MURDER CASE:
¢ATCreserves: #
verdict on                }

Z acquittal plea}

A 7 LAHORE (Staff Reporter):  An’:
Generic court, (ATC) 2:
% on Wednesday reserved Its
A 3 verdict.on the acquittal ap- 2°
g plication filed by accused Ka- :
24 shif Raza in the high-profile 7°
3 kidniapping-for-ransom  rand 2:
g. murder case of a five-year-3:
“$ old girl in Batapur. ATC Judge >:
:3 Shahid .Sikandar heard  the?
% case. The accused was pro-?
‘% ‘duced before the court from 23
F Jail for the trial. During the z:
proceedings, counsel for2.
2 both sides. concluded their +.
% “arguments ‘on the: acquittal 3
% ‘plea. Following the comple-7;
“4 tlon of arguments, the, court:
% reserved its decision,  Theg?
“ prosecution “and  the {com-7;
‘3 plainant's: éounsel “opposed 2»
'S the application and request-2:
% ed the :court to dismiss it:
3 while, Chaudhry Hamad- eure 2" ‘
74 Rehman Waseem, Advocate, 3°
i represented: the + accused. 3:
Z ‘According to’ the’ prosecu-2:
4 tion, Kashif Raza is involved ¢ 2
‘Sin the abduction and murder 3 2
of five-year-old. Police have /:
‘g already submitted the chal-7

“g lan: before: the: trial  éourt.2’
: :f Investigators allege, that thes;
‘3 accused, who lived opposite 3’
S the victim’s house and was a7:
1g friend of her father strangled 7+.
1% the child to: death after she},
‘9 recognized him and threat-3

g ened to tell her father,; The?-
body was’ allegedly dumped 3°
4 In’a nearby forest. Police fur-4

% ther stated that the “victim's 3:
% skeletal “:remains,” blood-3:  :
stained clothes and scattered $ 3:
body parts were recovered 5.
i% from the forest on the iden-3:
% tification ‘of the accused. In- 7:
% $3 vestigators said some body’:
: 4 parts had been eaten by wild ¢-
2 4 animals before the remains 3°
‘% ig. Were recovered.:

y


  AAANS


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PPP links Kahna tragedy to
absence of LB govts in Punjab

“OUR ‘STAFF REPORTER :
~              ~ LAHORE! 7”


Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ‘Central Punj

KAHNA TUITION CENTRE TRAGEDY:


je fut

General

Syed Hassan Murtaza on Tuesday said the tragic collapse of a tu-
ition centre in Kahna, which claimed the lives of 14 children, ex-
posed the failure of governance In Punjab and highlighted the
urgent need for elected local governments, Addressing a press
conference at the People’s Secretariat in Model Town, Murtaza said
that had functional local government institutions existed in Punjab,
those responsible for the tragedy could have been held accountable
immediately. “The deaths of innocent children in Lahore, which fs
often projected as the country’s most developed city, reflect the de-
privation and administrative failure in the area,” he said, a