Reply sought in farmer bodies case

Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza of the Lahore High Court on Monday issued notice to secretary irrigation and Peda chairman in a petition challenging a ban on forming peasant organisations. The judge sought reply from both the respondents within two weeks on a petition of a farmer Nasir Nawaz. The petitioner said that according to the government policy such ban could not be imposed until the end of this year. He alleged that in violation of this policy, Peda chairman on his own dissolved the organisations and appointed administrator. —Correspondent