January 30, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 20, 1429

MIRPURKHAS, Jan 29: The president of the Punjab chapter of the Pakistan People’s Party, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, has said that people’s decision on Feb 18 will take the wind out of the opposition parties’ sails.

He said at a public meeting in Umerkot town on Monday that Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was part of a conspiracy aimed at breaking the country apart. But the party saved the country and kept it united by acting sanely and positively, he said.

He said that the elements who wanted to disintegrate the country had killed the great leader. They could not stand her political strategy and international stature, he said.

He urged people to cast votes in favour of PPP candidates on Feb 18 to enable Benazir Bhutto’s party to achieve its leader’s objectives.

He said that he had sworn at the time of Benazir’s burial that he would not sit idle till Ms Bhutto’s killers had been arrested and awarded exemplary punishment.

Mr Qureshi said that he had come with a message of love from the people of Punjab for their Sindhi brethren and asked people what they thought of Benazir’s death, was it a conspiracy or just an accident. To which people roared in unison that it was a conspiracy.

PPP Sindh President Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that Benazir Bhutto came back on people’s demand. After Karsaz blasts she was assured that she would be provided high-profile security but people saw that the killers took advantage of security lapses at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi, he said.

He urged people to cast votes in favour of their sister’s party and help bring revolutionary changes in the country’s system. fertiliser shortage: Dealers have been selling the DAP fertiliser at higher rates through black marketing due to shortage in the markets here. Growers including Imtiaz Panhwar, Abdul Ghafoor Maher, Ismail Soomro, Mohammad Aslam and Khalid Rajput complained that the fertilisers are being sold in black by the dealers and as a result, the growers suffer additional burden.

The EDO agriculture Mirpurkhas Ghulamullah Jarwar said that on receiving complaints about the selling of DAP fertiliser in black, he had directed the department’s deputy district officer to check the dealers. He added that he had asked to ensure legal action if any of them was involved in the selling of fertilisers in black.

The EDO said that according to the official rate, the DAP fertiliser should cost Rs1,719 per bag. He added that he had told the growers to point out the dealers selling the fertiliser not on official rate.

Mr Jarwar said that he had also informed higher authorities to take up the matter, as the local warehouses of DAP fertilisers were lying empty. He added that he had asked the concerned authorities for a regular supply of this fertiliser to overcome the shortage.