BAHAWALPUR: The Kotwali police registered a first information report (FIR) against about 25 activists of the Bahawalpur National Ittehad (BNI), including its chairperson Asia Kamal, and about 20 PTI worlcers under the AntiTerrorism Act (ATA) and other offenses on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Muhammad Saeed.

According to the FIR, Ms Kamal with her husband retired Dr Midhat Kamal, Raoofur Rehman, Abdul Karim and Kashif Ajmal along with 15 to 20 unidentified PTI workers staged a rally on Thursday to demand provincial status for Bahawalpur in front of the residence of Governor Balighur Rehman. They raised slogans and blocked the road, which caused inconvenience to the general public and motorists.

However, Ms Kamal denied the presence of PTI activists at their demonstration and claimed that only BNI members were part of her rally, which also did not block the road in front of the house of the governor.

COTTON SOWING: Thepace of implementation of `the grow-more cotton campaign` in south Punjab has been accelerated, says South Punjab Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Saqib Zafar.

Chairing a meeting at the South Punjab Bahawalpur Secretariat on Friday, he said that the deputy commissioners of all 11 districts of south Punjab had been given a fixed target for cotton sowing as well production.

`In fact, the South Punjab Secretariat has made a plan beyond the achievement of the fixed target of cotton sowing on 4.5m acres of land.

Mr Zafar asked the farmers to make the best use of the government`s facilities for cotton sowing in the favourable weather conditions.

He said cotton was the guarantee of the country`s prosperity and the lifeline of the economy. He added that new life was being injected into the research institutions dealing with cotton seeds and cotton in the country.

Secretary Agriculture Iftikhar Ali Sahu said the south Punjab had achieved the 62pc of the cotton sowing target and hoped that the target would be achieved by May 31.