TOBA TEK SINGH: Seven persons of a family of Faisal Town, Lahore, died and two others were injured in an accident caused by heavy fog on the road going from Syedwala Interchange on the M-3 to Tandlianwala in Faisalabad in the early hours of Saturday.

Their car rammed into a sugarcane-laden tractor-trolley going ahead of it and the car driver could not see it due to thick fog.

Rescue 1122 identified the deceased as Rabia Zaheer (36), her two daughters, Fajar (11) and Umaima (6), two sons Yahya (6) and Musa (1), her brother-in-law Shahzaib (40) and Shahzaib’s son Raees (1). The injured were identified as Saba Perveen (35), wife of Shahzaib, and their son Ameer Hadi (13).

The injured were shifted to the Samundri Tehsil Headquarters Hospital and they were reportedly in very critical condition. Bodies of the deceased as well as the injured persons were pulled out of the car after cutting its steel body.

In another fog-related accident, a motorcyclist died and his two pillions were injured critically after a car hit their two-wheeler near Chak 154/GB, Lalpur Dhottian, at Gojra.

Reports said Talha Umer (18), Shurjeel (19) and Atif (22) were on the way to Gojra when a car ran over their bike in dense fog. As a result, all of them were injured. They were shifted to the Gojra Tehsil Headquarters Hospital where Talha succumbed to his injuries. Both the injured were referred by the doctors to the Faisalabad Allied Hospital.

In Faisalabad, a dumper ran over a motorcyclist near the locality of Nishatabad, killing him on impact. The deceased was identified as Ali Raza (25) of Ghulam Muhammadabad.

ARRESTED: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Faisalabad arrested a member of an alleged human trafficking gang.

A press release said that previously a member of the same gang, Muhammad Ashfaq, was arrested who revealed during the investigation about his accomplice, Muhammad Farooq, who had now been arrested from Chak Jhumra.

It said the suspects were extorting money from those who wanted to go to Europe and they were sending them on fake visas via Turkey, Dubai or Azerbaijan from.

PHMEA: The Labour and Human Resources Department officials have allegedly started harassing the owners of various factories in Faisalabad by raiding them though they were paying the social security dues of all the workers.

This was stated by Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMEA) Senior Vice Chairman Hazir Khan in a statement.

He said the social security of all workers was being paid as per the minimum monthly salary of Rs37,000 fixed by the Punjab government but the social security commissioner’s teams had been harassing the factory owners for the past few days. He demanded the government immediately stop these raids and warned that if this practice continued, the PHMEA would be forced to give a strike call.

SUSPENDED: On the directions of Provincial Minister of Labour Welfare Faisal Ayub, three officers of the Social Security Department and two officials of Labour Welfare Department had been suspended from service over negligence.

An official said the minister had sent his inspection team to Faisalabad and its members found irregularities in both departments.

The suspended social security officers were identified as Director Faisalabad East Circle Anwarul Haq, Deputy Director Administration Muhammad Asghar, assistant directors Faisalabad West Circle Toqeer Ali and Saeed Ahmad while suspended labour welfare department officials included Labour officer Rauf Ahmad and a labour inspector.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2024