SUKKUR - Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) said on Saturday that the stay granted to the execution of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav by the Internal Court of Justice (ICJ) was the failure of Nawaz government, adding that the interim decision had saddened him, and surely Pak Army as well since it was after a struggle that our agencies managed to get hold of him.

He was speaking at a ceremony held in connection with the inauguration of a solar system installed at a pumping station in Umarkas Wah near Rohri.

The project has been completed at the cost of Rs200 million by Irrigation Department Sindh.

Addressing the gathering, Khursheed said that the solar system would facilitate the provision of water to the peasants of tail-end lands.

Irrigation officials, while giving him the briefing, told leader of the opposition in NA that water of Umarkas Wah (canal) did not reach the tail-end areas due to which former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had approved installation of a solar system at the pumping station, adding that 35 cusecs of water could be provided to the peasants of tail-end areas on daily basis which would help them irrigate their lands.

They also informed that the solar panel system was also to be installed at Patni Canal in the second phase at the cost of Rs500 million to facilitate peasants of tail-end lands.

Khursheed said that the lands of Nara taluka were cheap and people were not ready to purchase lands even at Rs2000/- per acre, but the PPP had installed 19 big channels due to which thousands of acres of desert had become cultivable. “Now people are not ready to sell two acres of land even at Rs1.5 million per acre,” he added.

He further said that despite the demand made by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the appointment of a foreign minister, the incumbent government overlooked it due to which Pakistan had remained alone at world level.

He said that there would be no good news for the people in the upcoming annual budget.

However, he demanded 30 to 35 percent raise in salaries in the budget.