TOBA TEK SINGH: Punjab police, through Interpol, have extradited two men from Saudi Arabia who were wanted in a nine-year-old double murder case.

The suspects, Muhammad Waseem and Iftikhar Ahmad of Gojra, fled abroad after allegedly killing Muhammad Saleem Gujjar of Chak 299-JB and injuring his brother Muhammad Naeem Gujjar over an enmity in 2016. Later, they were also accused of murdering a woman, Razia Bibi, from the same village.

MERGER: The Punjab government on Tuesday ordered the merger of the 14-bed Toba City Hospital with the Toba Tek Singh District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital.According to a notification issued by Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Nadia Saguib, the number of beds at DHQ hospital has now increased from 300 to 314.

PML-N MPA Amjad Ali Javed told reporters that the decision was made on his initiative, as the city hospital often lacked essentialfacilities, doctors, and staff. Following the merger, all staff and equipment have been shifted to DHQ Hospital.

UAF VC: The Punjab governor, in his capacity as chancellor, has appointed Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali as the vice chancellor of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) for a four-year term.

He assumed office on Tuesday.

Dr Ali is a professor of plant breeding and genetics. He previously served as thedirector of programmes and projects at the Islamic Organization for Food Security in Astana, Kazakhstan, since 2023. His academic contributions earned him the Higher Education Commission`s Best University Teacher Award in 2020, while the Pakistan Academy of Sciences awarded him a gold medal in biotechnology in 2017. He has also won multiple research productivity awards.

Dr Ali holds a PhD from UAF and has completed postdoctoral research at the University of Sydney, Australia, and Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China. He has supervised over 20 PhD and 100 MS students and has contributed significantly to research, particularly in developing hybrid wheat, water-saving rice, and yield-enhancing plant architectures.As a pioneer chairman of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture, Multan, he played a key role in securing over three billion rupees in extramural funding.

Upon assuming charge, Dr Ali said that, in accordance with court rulings and directives from the Higher Education Commission and the chancellor, the pro-vice chancellor is only authorised to perform the university`s day-to-day functions.

He declared all decisions made by the pro-VC between Oct 20, 2024, and March 4, 2025, that exceed this mandate as illegal and void. He directed the registrar, treasurer and controller of examinations to submit a list of such decisions and actions taken during that period.