MPA kicks off parliamentary career by reciting Naat in House

Syed Ameer Ali Shah, the newly elected legislator of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), took the oath of office as a member of the provincial assembly (MPA) on Monday and formally started his parliamentary career by reciting Naat in the House.

Shah had won the by-election for Umerkot’s PS-52 constituency on January 18, defeating former Sindh chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, who had contested on the ticket of the opposition Grand Democratic Alliance.

It was the first by-election in Pakistan since the start of the Covid-19 health emergency in the country. The seat had fallen vacant the previous year after the death of the PPP’s lawmaker and former provincial minister Ali Mardan Shah. Ameer Ali Shah is his son.

The newly elected MPA said that it was his late father’s advice that he recite Naat in the Sindh Assembly before delivering any speech. The entire House sat captivated as he beautifully rendered the Naat.

Earlier, the assembly reverberated with shouts of “Jeay Bhutto” as Ameer Ali Shah took the oath of office as an MPA in the Sindhi language. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah congratulated him on his by-poll victory. He said that the PPP will emerge victorious in the upcoming by-elections in Malir and Sanghar as well.

The CM said that the late MPA Ali Mardan Shah had remained loyal to the Peoples Party, adding that his son had also reached the House after winning the by-election. He reiterated that the PPP will continue to serve the masses.

The newly elected lawmaker said in his speech in the PA that his late father was like his mentor, adding that on the night before his father passed away, he had advised him to remain loyal to the PPP and the party’s Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Ameer Ali Shah promised the people of his constituency that he will remain loyal to the Peoples Party. He said that assuming the seat of his father in the provincial legislature is a matter of pride for him. He wore an Ajrak emblazoned with “Jeay Bhutto”.

Sindh Culture Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah said that certain undemocratic forces had failed to change the political affiliation of the late Ali Mardan Shah. Information Technology Minister Taimur Talpur advised the losing candidate to go to India and contest the polls there because of his consistent electoral defeats in the Tharparkar area. Later, PA Speaker Agha Siraj Khan Durrani prorogued the session of the House.