KARACHI - Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has nominated Murad Ali Shah, Agha Siraj Durrani and Rehana Leghari as its candidates for the slots of Sindh chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker of the provincial assembly.
These nominations were decided at a meeting of PPP parliamentary party presided over by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Saturday. PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari also attended the meeting briefly. Former chief ministers, Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Murad Ali Shah, Faryal Talpur, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, General Secretary Waqar Mehdi and Information Secretary Aajiz Dhamrah were also present on the occasion.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told the MPAs-elect that the people have pinned high expectations on the party by electing them third time to govern the province. He asked the parliamentary party to forget the last 10 years in government and get ready for more transparent and merit-based governance for the betterment of the people.
The PPP chairman asserted issues of water scarcity and improvement in health and education sectors should be the top priorities of the new Sindh government. He added there will be no lifetime chief minister or ministers as he himself is going to monitor the performance of all, including MPAs.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari further said various puppets were cobbled up together to challenge PPP in Sindh in the recent elections, but they were defeated with the support of the people. He said another group of puppets was being inducted in the federal government, but pledged PPP would expose their hollowness as well and rout them out.
Addressing the MPAs-elect, he said: “You all are my team and I expect the best performance from you to revive the glorious past of the party all over the country.”
Meanwhile, the opposition parties, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Grand Democratic Alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, will hold a joint sitting after the oath-taking session of the provincial assembly Monday.
Talking to The Nation, MQM-P MPA-elect Muhammad Hussain said the opposition parties would sit together Monday after the oath-taking session of the provincial assembly and mull the strategy to bring a joint candidate for the chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker slots.
He said although there are bleak chances of their success on the slots, but they do not want to give any walkover to the PPP.
“We will try our best to block the way of PPP in the provincial assembly,” said the MPA-elect who will become part of the provincial assembly for the sixth time on MQM ticket. PTI former parliamentary leader in the provincial assembly, Khurram Sher Zaman, also said they would ensure better coordination with the other opposition parties in the provincial assembly to give a tough time to the PPP.
“We will create every hurdle possible in the way of corrupt practices of PPP in this tenure and if the history of 10-year corruption is repeated, it will face stiff resistance from us,” he said.
Meanwhile, the decision on opposition leader from major opposition parties has yet to be taken and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has convened a parliamentary party meeting of the provincial assembly Sunday to take its members into confidence on the issue. The PTI is the biggest opposition party in the assembly with 23 seats followed by MQM-P with 16 seats and GDA with 11 seats.
The sources within PTI, however, said three top leaders of the party in the assembly, including former parliamentary leader Khurram Sher Zaman, PTI Karachi chief Firdous Shamim Naqvi and Haleem Adil Sheikh, are vying for the slot.
“After objections from MQM-P over Naqvi, most probably, the name of Khurram Sher Zaman will be announced for the slot,” he said, adding he has a lot of experience of parliamentary politics.