May 03, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 26, 1429

HYDERABAD, May 2: The Association of Peoples of Asia, Pakistan chapter, at a meeting held here on Friday, expressed sorrow over the sad demise of Ms Nirmala Deshpande, the chairperson of Indian chapter of the association, and a member of the Indian upper house.

Speaking on the occasion, Khursheed Ahmed Shaikh, Shabbir Ahmed Khilji, Mir Sikandar Ali Talpur, Zafar Rajput and others paid rich tribute to Ms Deshpande for her services rendered in the cause of peace and minorities of the region without any discrimination.

They said that she worked relentlessly to bring the two countries closer to each other.

LOADSHEDDING: MQM MNAs, Syed Tayyab Hussain and Salahuddin have condemned unannounced loadshedding in the city and said that with the increase in the intensity of heat, Hesco had also extended duration of loadshedding.

In a statement faxed to Dawn, they said that due to unannounced loadshedding, lives of the citizens had become miserable, seriously affecting business activities and the consumers were protesting on the roads due to frequent breakdowns in power supply for hours together.

The MNAs have demanded of the federal minister for water and power, Raja Pervez Ashraf, to take urgent notice of the long duration of loadshedding in Hyderabad.