BAHAWALPUR: Three members of a gang involved in the alleged theft of antiques from the Cholistan desert have been handed over to police.

This was stated by Cholistan Development Authority (CDA) Managing Director (MD) Syed Tariq Mahmood Bokhari on Friday.

He told Dawn that the suspects, Sahib Khan, Khair Muhammad and Ayub, along with their accomplices were allegedly involved in the illegal excavation in the Cholistan desert and the theft of preciousartefactsfromthe desert`s sand dunes for a long time .He said the suspects sold out these costly artefacts in other cities.

He said the CDA staff members handed them over to police while the search for their accomplices was going on.

It may be recalled that Cholistan desert had various sites of ancient civilisations, which were still yet tobe excavated.

AUDIT: Multan Commissioner Aamir Kareem Khan says a comprehensive audit of the performance of all four districts under his jurisdiction would be conducted in phases.

He was chairing a meeting to discuss Vehari district with its Deputy Commissioner Imrana Taugeer in his office.

According to an official handout, the commissioner said the district authorities would take immediate action on public-interest projects, emphasizing beautification, infrastructure development, and smallscale initiatives to improve urban life. He highlighted the chief minister`s special focus on the Clean Punjab initiative, city beautification and eliminating encroachments.

Mr Khan instructed the officials to remove long-standing garbage dumps, beautify entry and exit points of cities and ensure the entire division had no waste through robust cleanliness meas-ures. He confirmed the approval of the Multan-to-Vehari road construction project under the CM`s directive. He reiterated a zero-tolerance policy against encroachments, instructing strict and unbiased action against temporary and permanent structures.

Aamir Kareem Khan directed the price control magistrates and other officials to improve their performance and curb inflation mafia, while prioritizing infrastructure and sewerage projects to provide public relief.

Ms Imrana Taugeer briefed the commissioner on her district`s achievements, including the `Ride to School` initiative and supply of bicycles to schoolgirls with support from philanthropists.

ARRESTED: Nowshehra Jadid police in Bahawalpur district claimed to have seized a big consignment of over three maund charas along with 35km opium from a suspect, Muhammad Asad, who was smuggling the drugs in his vehicle.