War of words: Upcoming Badin elections puts Mirza, Shah in crosshairs

Zulfiqar Mirza has declared open support for PML-N's Ismail Rahu.

HYDERABAD: The upcoming re-election in a Sindh Assembly constituency in Badin has exacerbated hostilities between alienated Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) leader Zulfiqar Mirza and the party leadership.

Mirza's open support to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's provincial president, Ismail Rahu, who is a contestant in the PS-59 constituency, has further fanned the flames. And this time around, Mirza's tirades have been met by an insinuation from Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah.



"If he doesn't change his behaviour towards the PPP leadership then we may re-think giving the party tickets to his wife and son," he warned. "Two of his family members are still MNA and MPA in the PPP and the two should clarify their position." Shah asked Mirza to first ask his wife and son to resign and then contest the elections against the PPP candidates from Badin to know his real political worth.

Shah visited Badin district on Saturday apparently to garner support for the PPP candidate, Muhammad Nawaz Chandio, who was suspended from PS-59 constituency by Hyderabad Election Tribunal. On April 10, the tribunal ordered re-election in 37 polling stations. Chandio defeated Rahu by a margin of 1,349 votes by obtaining 38,315 votes in 2013 general elections.

"He [Mirza] used to be a wanderer in the streets of Hyderabad and Zardari did him a great favour by making him a minister," claimed Shah. "Now he has collected wealth worth billions of rupees." Shah said Mirza is ungrateful because he speaks against his well-wisher, Zardari.



The Badin chapter leaders of the PPP, including Dr Aziz Memon, Chandio and Kamal Khan Chang also criticised Mirza and challenged him for the re-elections. Chang said the PPP candidates have won elections six out of eight times from this constituency.

Mirza undaunted

Unperturbed by the warnings and criticism, Mirza reiterated his support for the PML-N leader. "Ismail Rahu is a hundred times better than these people," he said, talking to the media in Badin to give his reaction to the CM's comments. "Rahu is more compassionate towards the people than Chandio. This is why I am supporting him."

However, he avoided hitting back at the chief minister in his typical aggressive style. "Qaim Ali Shah is an elderly person. I will not speak anything in his disrespect." But, the people of Shah's constituency want to know who is responsible for the unending cycle of deaths of children in the drought-affected Tharparkar, which borders Badin district, he asked.

He claimed that his wife and son will not support 'the cruel persons', suggesting that the two PPP legislators may also lend support to Rahu.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2015.