SHIKARPUR, Jan 22: A one-day seminar was held on “Economy of Sindh” at the press club here on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Naveed Ahmad Shaikh of the Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, said Sindh had paid Rs53 billion as interest during the last 30 years against Rs59 billion loan taken from the federal government.

He said that every year, Sindh was bearing expenses of Rangers to the tune of Rs11 billion.

He said that Sindh provided 9 per cent of coal, 40 per cent of silica sand, 45 per cent of chemicals, 32 per cent of sugar, 22 per cent of vegetables, 57 per cent of gas, 34 per cent of electricity, 29 per cent of rice, 23 per cent of cotton, 23 per cent of maize, 54 per cent of fish and 27 per cent of sugarcane to the federal government for fulfilment of national requirements every year.

Hameer Chandio, Irshad Chandio, Niaz Masroor Badvi, Naimatullah Bhutto, Anwar Soomro, Sodho James, Imdad Dayo and others also spoke on the occasion.