Five commit suicide in Faisalabad

FAISALABAD: Five persons, including three women, committed suicide in separate incidents here on Monday.

Azra Bibi of Chak Jhumra, a mother of four children, committed suicide after consuming poisonous pills after exchanging hot words with her husband.

In another incident, married woman Razia Noor of Pindi Bhattian also ended her life by taking poison after quarreling with her husband over a domestic issue. Imran Ahmad of Chak 104/RB also committed suicide by swallowing poisonous pills due to poverty.

Barkat Masih of Thikriwala ended his life by hanging himself with a tree. Gulshan Bibi, a married woman of Chak 228/GB, ended her life by swallowing poisonous pills after exchanging of hot words with her husband Muhammad Asif.

Chinese varsity, UAF ink MoU: Chinese Academy of Tropical Agriculture Sciences and the University of Agriculture Faisalabad Monday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate in the area of academia and research especially in agriculture.

The MoU was duly signed by Chinese Institute Vice President Dr LIU Guodao and UAF Vice Chancellor Dr Muhamad Ashraf.

Dr LIU Guodao said through the collaboration, we will able to learn from each others’ experiences. He said Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences (CATAS) is the national institution engaged in tropical agricultural research and development as well as graduate students education. He said it is engaged in researches on tropical fruits, tropical bio-fuel crops, tropical vegetables, tropical textile fiber crops, tropical oil crops, and crops, tropical medicinal crops, agricultural machinery, environment and plant protection, biotechnology, genetic resource conservation and development for tropical agriculture, as well as agro-product quality and safety standards formulation and monitoring and test technology for tropical agriculture.

Dr Muhammad Ashraf said China has adopted a model of small scaled implements for small farmers, he said, adding that the university had taken up the challenges of developing small implements as more than 90 percent of our farming community consisted of small farmers. He stressed upon the need to learn from the Chinese experiences in farm machinery value addition and seed. He said Pakistan was producing abundant and good quality agri produces, but we could not able to earn foreign exchange. It was because of lack of value additions and not following modern trends and international standards. He said that China is Pakistan’s fair-weather friend as she always stands with us in difficult times. Fruits, vegetable and crops were also discussed in the meeting.

UAF Dean Agriculture Dr Muhammad Aslam, Institute of Horticulture Science Director Dr Amanullah Malik, Director Research Dr Zahir Ahmad Zahir, Director External Linkages Dr Rashed Ahmad and other notables attended the meeting.