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12 booked after extortion bid, gun attack on doctor couple

By Our Correspondent 2025-06-23
TOBA TEK SINGH: Two nominated pe ople and their 10 unidentified accomplices were booked on Sunday by Gojra City police for attacking the clinic of Dr Waseem Cheema and his wife Dr Subah Seemeen Cheema on Saturday evening and critically injuring them by gunfire.

The couple was referred by the Gojra THQ hospital to Faisalabad`s Allied Hospital.

In her FIR, registered under sections 440, 452, 324, 148 and 149 of the PPC, Dr Seemeen said that she and her husband were attending patients in separate rooms of their private clinic on Jhang Road when suspects Asghar Nawaz Guggu Warraich and his son Ahmad Nawaz Warraich entered her room and, at gunpoint, demanded extortion money.

She added that the suspects used abusive language and when her husband heard the noise and entered her room, both suspects opened fire on them and injured them. She alleged the assailants` 10 gunmen, who were sitting in cars outside, fledthe scene after ransacking the clinic. Police said raids were being conductedtoarrestthe suspects.

Pakistan Medical Association`s Gojra chapter spokesperson Dr Muhammad Irfan Rashid said an emergency meeting of the PMA condemned the assassination attempt and warned that if the suspects were not arrested in three days, doctors across the district would go on strike.

INCLUSION: Human Friends Organisation (HFO) with the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and the Department of Human Rights and Minorities Affairs hosted an advocacy session on `Inclusion, Non-Discrimination, and Economic Reintegration of Religious Minorities in the Workplace` on Sunday in Faisalabad.

The event was attended by representatives of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI), Women`s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WFCCI), and other local businessmen, as key stakeholders promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Sajid Christopher, HFO executive director, and Sobia Batool Shah spoke on the employment chal-lenges and reintegration needs of religious minorities. Interactive discussions featured input from FCCI and WFCCI on inclusive hiring practices in line with Pakistan`s human and labour rights commitments.

WAITING AREA: Public circles have urged Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take notice of the lack of a proper waiting area for people arriving from far-flung areas at Jhang DHQ Hospital.

They said that despite utilising substantial public funds to provide air conditioning systems for hospital offices, the Jhang district and health administrations have failed to address the grievances of patients and their attendants.

They alleged that male and female attendants of poor patients are often seen sitting and sleeping on the floor or in the doctors` car parking area. They said that poor and needy attendants are forced to spend days and nights in the harsh summer under the parking sheds.

They said that security guards often stop villagers from even sitting in the corridors, despite their need to stay nearby to provide medicines and food to their admitted loved ones.