QUETTA, Feb 9: Minister for agriculture Mir Asad Baloch informed the provincial assembly on Monday that all of about 200,000 tons of fertiliser imported through the Gwadar port was sent to Punjab and Sindh while Balochistan was completely ignored.

Ministers Sardar Aslam Bizenjo and Abdur Rehman Mengal said that farmers in Khuzdar and Kalat had blocked the National Highway in protest against non-availability of fertiliser and questioned what was the purpose of a port in Gwadar if farmers of Balochistan did not benefit from it.

Mir Asad Baloch said that about 90 per cent of the people depended on agriculture, but the entire lot of imported fertiliser was sent to other provinces.

He said farmers of Khuzdar and Kalat were justified in holding protests because they were facing a shortage of fertiliser. He also said that the federal government should provide fertiliser to farmers in Balochistan at subsidised rates.

The minister said he had written a letter to the chief minister and assured the house that the matter would also be taken up with the federal government.

The speaker deferred discussion on a resolution tabled by ministers Mir Habibur Rehman Muhammad Hasni and Mir Abdur Rahim Mengal demanding the setting up of a new division comprising Nushki, Chagai, Waushak and Kharan. However, Mir Asim Kurd, Zamarak Khan Piralizai, Asad Baloch and Nasreen Khetran suggested that the issue should be first discussed by the cabinet.