HYDERABAD, June 18: The president of Sindh Abadgar Board, Abdul Majeed Nizamani, has termed the national budget an enemy of agriculture and said that no relief was offered to the farmers of Sindh though they have been suffering due to the acute shortage of water and rampant lawlessness.

In a statement issued here on Monday, he said that the federal finance minister had admitted that the GDP had suffered due to the setback in the agriculture sector despite that Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan had surpassed their production targets.

Nizamani claimed that during the last three years, the agricultural economy of Sindh had sustained a total loss of Rs75 billion.

He demanded that a judicial committee should be appointed to determine the exact extent of loss to Sindh and added that the farmers should be compensated for the losses.

He deplored that not a penny had been allocated in the budget for development of the agriculture sector and instead the GST on seed, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery, diesel oil and electricity for tube-wells had been increased between 15 to 18 per cent.

He said that profitable organizations like the Fauji Fertilizers and national oil refineries were provided subsidies but the agriculture sector, which was the backbone of the national economy, had been totally neglected.

He challenged the federal finance minister to name one country in the world where the agriculture sector was not given subsidy.

He pointed out that even Rs5 billion had been deducted from Rs10 billion grant announced by President Gen Pervez Musharraf for the improvement in the irrigation system of Sindh, notwithstanding the fact that the irrigation department had requested for Rs30 billion grant.

He demanded that in the larger interest of the country, Rs95 billion should be sanctioned to restore the irrigation system of Sindh and for lining of its watercourses.

He also demanded relief in electricity charges for tube- wells, construction of roads and improvement in law and order situation.