Murad Ali Shah nominated as Sindh chief minister

Says his top priority will be to tackle law and order situation in province;
Qaim says PPP leadership always takes wise decisions

KARACHI: The Pakistan People’s Party, after a lengthy session of deliberations among lawmakers of the party, officially nominated Syed Murad Ali Shah to become the new chief minister of the province late on Tuesday night.

Murad Ali Shah till now has been serving as Sindh’s Senior Minister for Finance and Energy with the additional portfolios of Planning and Development and Irrigation Department of the Sindh government.

The session of the parliamentary party of the PPP in the Sindh Assembly continued for over three hours at the Bilawal House for consultation of taking the lawmakers of the ruling party into confidence on the decision to replace Qaim Ali Shah with a new chief executive of the province. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari earlier reached Karachi from Dubai in the evening especially to preside over a meeting of the PPP parliamentary party here.

Last Sunday, the PPP, after a top-level meeting in Dubai jointly chaired by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari, announced it would bring a new CM for its provincial government in Sindh along with making changes in the provincial cabinet.

Earlier, rumours were making the rounds that there had been serious differences among various groups and lobbies of lawmakers of the party on the issue of nominating Murad Ali Shah as the new chief minister of the province. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, belonging to the PPP, Syed Khursheed Shah is said to be at the forefront among the dissenting lobby of parliamentarians and leaders of the party unhappy over the decision to bring a new CM for the province after replacing Qaim Ali Shah. 

Qaim Ali Shah will formally tender his resignation to the Sindh governor on Wednesday (today) and would vacate the CM House.

After completion of the hours-long consultation process at Bilawal House, Sindh CM’s Adviser on Information Maula Bakhsh Chandio formally announced at a press briefing at the media cell of the PPP the decision of the party to nominate Murad Ali Shah as the new CM of the province.

Chandio said at the press briefing that Murad Ali Shah was nominated as the CM of the province in view of the fast approaching general elections in the year 2018, which necessitated a change in the top slot of the provincial government so as to bring a relatively younger and more dynamic CM for the province.  

He said that Murad Ali Shah would bring his new team to assist him in affairs of governance in the province as the new cabinet for the province would be unveiled in a  few days. He said the new CM would continue to serve the province in accordance with the guidelines and policies of the chairman of the party.

Talking to Geo News after being nominated for the CM’s slot, Murad Ali Shah said that his top priority while steering governance of the province would be to tackle the issue of law and order in the province. He said that situation in the health and education sectors in the province had degenerated to the extent that an education and health emergency had to be declared in the province.

Regarding the issue of the row between the Sindh govt and Rangers on special policing powers of the paramilitary force, the would-be Sindh CM said that all concerned stakeholders, including the civil armed forces, bureaucracy and political govt in the province, had to work together in collaboration with each to bring an improvement in the affairs of the province.

Earlier in the evening , Syed Qaim Ali Shah called on the PPP Chairman at Bilawal House. PPP’s Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari eulogized the services of the outgoing Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah for the party and the province adding that the party would continue to seek his guidance from his experience in the future.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the decision to replace an experienced and loyal party leader was a very difficult one but sometimes the party has to take such decisions for political and strategic purposes in the collective interest of the party and the province.

He stated that Syed Qaim Ali Shah is a great asset to the party who stood by the party through thick and thin for three generations of the party leadership.

On the occasion, the outgoing chief minister said that the party’s decision was his own as the PPP leadership has always taken wise decisions and he would continue to serve the party.

Later, the PPP Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, met the party MPAs of every district separately to take them into confidence and seek their opinion about the future party strategy.

Earlier in the day, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that the PPP leadership had decided to induct a new chief minister in his place. “I bow down before the decision of the party. It must have taken the right decision.”

He was talking to the media just after inaugurating the Lincoln Corner at the Liaquat Memorial Library established by the US Consulate on Tuesday afternoon.

Brushing aside the impression of a rift in the party ranks, he said “We all are PPP. We are like family members and we all are on the same page. There is no rift, no differences and no heart burning.” He added that the new chief minister would complete the work he was leaving behind. “The development portfolio of the city is quite impressive and with the completion of development works in the city, Karachi would give a beautiful look and we are also doing our best for the rest of Sindh,” he said.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that he had served the people of the province with heart and soul. “I tried my best to serve my people selflessly. I always made the utmost efforts to provide maximum job opportunities to the youth of the province.” He added that the people of the province had to assess his services because they are the best judges. He said the new chief minister would also work hard for the people of the province. “This was the legacy of Shaheed Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and the new chief minister would follow it as I did.”